


Leave A Scar

by Meaghan Kalena (Meaghan_K)



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003), Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Action & Romance, Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Angst with a Happy Ending, Backstory, Break Up, Broken Engagement, Broken Promises, Childhood Friends, Crying, Cute, Dating, Depression, Doubt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Falling In Love, Family Loss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Hurt Edward Elric, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Journey, Lies, Loss, Loss of Faith, Love, Marriage, Marriage Proposal, Mental Breakdown, Mental Health Issues, Nightmares, Post-Canon, Post-Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Promise, Promises, Psychological Trauma, Redemption, Regret, Schizophrenia, Secret Relationship, Secrets, Self-Acceptance, Self-Destruction, Self-Discovery, Self-Doubt, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, Self-Sacrifice, Self-Worth Issues, Suffering, The Author Regrets Nothing, Tragedy, Travel, World Travel, cute dates, ex-fiance, really messed up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-18 06:55:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 52,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28739097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meaghan_K/pseuds/Meaghan%20Kalena
Summary: After the defeat of Father, Ed and Al fail to get their bodies restored. They're still searching, but with a sudden strange power, and a bounty on Edward's head, things aren't going to be easy. And despite what they say, I'm not doing them any favors, either.
Relationships: Alphonse Elric & Edward Elric & Original Character(s), Alphonse Elric & Original Female Character(s), Edward Elric & Original Character(s), Edward Elric/Original Female Character(s), Edward Elric/Winry Rockbell, Winry Rockbell & Original Character(s)
Kudos: 7





	1. Reunion

It was raining when I first saw them.

I was focusing on the map in my hands, hand drawn lines smudged and unreadable due to the sky's water. Great. I folded the paper, tucking it back into my bag. I could probably repair the drawing with Alchemy once this storm clears up. I just hoped I remembered exactly how everything looked...

My train schedule was in better shape, but as luck would have it the current train times were the only ones blurred away. I looked up from the piece of paper, spotting someone standing by the train station I was supposed to be waiting on. The girl was rather short, but what interested me more was the giant suit of armor standing next to her. Weird. Anxiety balled into my stomach. This was why I didn't travel too much.

But the suit of armor was holding an umbrella for both himself and the girl. I guess he couldn't be too bad.

I stepped forward, coming up from behind them, my hand extending towards the suit.

"Um, excuse me."

I touched the arm of the cold metal, immediately feeling the suit's body rise up, a shout quivering from it. I pulled away, immediately apologizing.

A hollow breath sounded against the inside of the suit's helmet, the light that made up its eyes reduced to thin slits.

Wait

Lights? Making up its eyes?

"There something we can help you with?" A smooth voice; one that I didn't immediately place the location of.

I looked towards the voice's direction, to the other person standing there. The person I thought was a girl, but upon seeing the masculine face framed by golden hair all those thoughts were shoved out the window. I calmed myself, the anxiety and slight jump of fear from before withdrawing as I straightened my posture.

"I'm wondering how to get to Central. My train schedule got a little wet." I held up the piece of paper for them to see. By now, the schedule was completely drenched, just like the rest of me.

"Well here," Those golden eyes glanced up, taking in the sight of the umbrella beneath him and the suit of armor as he stepped back a little bit, "There's room for you too. No use getting even more wet."

"Thank you." I stepped in the umbrella's shadow, briefly seeing the guy in the armor shift his hand my direction, making sure I was covered. Warmth touched my chest despite the cold water soaking me. These people sure were nice.

"If you're heading to Central," The Suit said, the voice of a kid ringing out underneath the metal. "You're in luck! We're headed there now."

"Well, as soon as this train gets here." The other guy added. "Takes forever sometimes."

"I don't mind." I said with a little smile. A hand rose to the back of my head, and I felt myself blush a little. "I'm so sorry; I completely forgot to introduce myself."

I told them my name; a word the shorter one politely repeated before extending his hand.

"Call me Ed."

I took his hand, the warmth radiating underneath his glove. "It's nice to meet you, Ed."

I met his smiling eyes before a sudden memory flashed. A child... No, it couldn't be him.

"And I'm Alphonse!" The Suit pointed to himself. "We're brothers!"

I looked to them both, my head shifting to compensate the massive height difference. "Ed... Al... Brothers?"

A grin overtook my bewildered expression. "You two wouldn't happen to be from Resembool, would you?"

"Yeah, we grew up there—" Ed suddenly pointed to me, eyes widening and voice rising. "Wait a minute"—he said my name again, my heart skipping a beat at the hilarity of it all—"From _Resembool_?"

I held a hand to my mouth, quieting a laugh bubbling against my lips. "The very same."

Al turned, looking down at Ed. "Do we know this person, Brother?"

Putting one hand on his hip, Ed leaned to the side, lightly regarding me with a soft smile. "Yeah, she lived nearby when we were little, Al. Only for a year or so."

"And then I moved away." I finished, a blush running along my face. "Parent's decision. Not mine."

Al was quiet, his eyes cast down to the ground beside him.

"I'm sorry. I don't remember you."

"That's alright, Al!" I told him, leaning forward a bit to try and catch his gaze. "It was so long ago. And we all look so different!" I laughed a little, a bit embarrassed when neither of them joined in. If anything, that comment seemed to kill the mood.

Ed raised a hand to the back of his hair, keeping his stare downward. "You're telling me..."

"Look, the train!"

I turned to where Al was pointing, seeing the train's light shining through the heavy curtain of rain.

"Good," Ed stepped forward, lightly swinging the suitcase in front of him. "We can finally get moving again."

He was close by me; close enough to notice that I was still soaking wet from the rain. A smile came to him as he set the suitcase down in front of himself.

"Here." He straightened, still not coming to match my height, and clapped his hands together. He placed both of them on my coat's shoulder, blue light emitting from beneath the gloves. I was warmed instantly, the water evaporating, but I was much more interested in how that happened.

I looked to his closed eyes as he bent down, picking up the suitcase again. "You don't need a transmutation circle?"

"No." he replied. A grin came to him, a thumb hooking back to point at himself as he winked. "Guess I'm just that talented, huh?"

Al, who had watched the whole thing, spoke, voice deflated. "Teacher can do it, too, Ed."

"Will you stop messing up my cool?!"

I laughed lightly, the train slowing to a stop behind me. The brakes sounded, the cars all shifting forward before the door closest to us opened, revealing a worker. His expression remained blank, waiting for our tickets with one outstretched hand.

I dug around in my bag, wondering aloud if he'd take the right amount of money for a ticket. Ed stepped up beside me, suddenly handing the worker enough to cover my fair. More than enough, actually.

I turned to him. "Don't pay for me!"

Ed just grinned, continuing to dismiss every attempt I made to pay him back.

* * *

"You've definitely grown since I've seen you last, Alphonse."

Al shifted his head, looking up enough for those lights to meet my eyes from across the train's seats. An odd feeling met me as I looked into those eyes; something I shied away from examining.

Ed laughed, banging on his brother's arm with a fist. "Well, what can I say? The kid's got an appetite, that's for sure!"

I smiled, looking to Al as the younger brother laughed. Light and bubbly. Almost sounding... Nervous?

"Yep," He patted his stomach with both hands, "Just can't get enough of that food!"

I turned to Ed again. "You've grown a lot, too."

Shifting his finger across the base of his nose in embarrassment, Ed looked away, grinning. "Yeah, you think so? I mean, I have gotten taller since you've seen me last."

"I sure hope so!" I replied, laughing. "We were just kids then."

"How old were we?" Al asked us.

Ed and I exchanged glances; ones without much emotion, only a sharing of information. Ed looked to the middle of our section, in the center of the booth. He remained slumped down with his legs crossed; one ankle resting on his knee.

"You were about three, Al. It makes sense you don't remember, since you were so young, that is."

I nodded, continuing on with his explanation. "Making Ed four and myself five."

"Yeah, that's right." Ed pushed himself up a little straighter, a little taller. "You were a year older than I was." Thought came in between his golden brows. "That would make you..."

"Eighteen now." I answered for him. A smile came to my face. "I'm a full-fledged adult."

A sound of awe came out of Al's armor as Ed gave a brief cheer. I bowed a little, embarrassment reddening my face. Once again, I looked to the suit of armor sitting directly across from me. The wheels of the train below us bumped, moving along with the track's slight grooves.

"Speaking of growing up, I've been wondering about that armor, Al." I began, grinning. "Why don't you take your helmet off? I would love to see what you look like now."

"Uh." Al's head retracted back, eyes shrinking a bit.

"He's shy." Ed replied, taking a bite of a bread roll. I looked beside him, noticing a food cart waiting in the aisle. Ed motioned to it. "You want anything?"

My stomach answered for me. I had been so preoccupied before, I didn't even go back to eat breakfast. I leaned forward towards the cart, then moved back to retrieve my bag. "Yeah, lemme just check—"

"Don't worry about the cost." Ed waved his hand in front of himself. "Just pick out what you want. It's on me."

"Well," I replied, giving him a coy smile as I shifted over one seat, "Someone's _definitely_ changed since childhood."

Ed's eyes closed, hand resting over his mouth in a sophisticated pose. As if that could distract me from the blush touching his face.

I picked out the food I wanted—still of course being wary of the prices—and leaned back into my seat holding two rolls with butter between them. Ed gave a sigh, looking up to the woman in charge of the food cart.

"Give me your most expensive item."

"Ed!" I shouted, but he only smiled as the woman nodded, moving below to the bottom of the cart.

Ed looked to me, that hand still poised in front of his mouth.

"It's not every day you run into a childhood friend."

"But you don't have to celebrate like this!" I protested, squirming in my seat. "Whatever she's getting probably costs hundreds, at least!"

"You worry too much."

"Here you are, sir."

We looked as a champagne bottle was presented in front of him. "Would you like me to uncork it for you?"

Ed trained his eyes on mine, still not letting up that act. "You're legal, right? You drink?"

"Not... Not regularly." I replied quietly, shaking my head. "Not like this..."

"Great! We'll take it!"

"Very well, sir."

"ED!"

A grin finally broke out onto his face. The cork popped out of the bottle, bubbles rising towards the surface without spilling over.

I looked at the glass as it was handed to me with a polite "here you are, ma'am." I thanked the waitress, looking up from the golden liquid swirling in my glass to see Ed snap open his wallet. The total price was recited to him, and I forced myself from screaming again. Ed met my eyes, holding my stare as he gave a smile. His hand withdrew from his wallet, fanning bills away from each other like a hand of cards. More money than I would have expected—more money than everything COSTED.

"What..." Words failed me; how did he have that kind of cash?

He placed the small stack in the employee's palm, telling her to keep the change. In other words, giving a tip that probably more than tripled the original price.

I nearly fell out of my seat, dumbfounded. The employee wheeled into the next car, more than overjoyed.

"One of the few perks of being a State Alchemist." Ed explained, clicking his wallet shut.

"State Alchemist?" I repeated, briefly looking to Al for some sort of clarification. "Since when did this happen?"

Once again, something I said triggered a change in mood. Ed's eyes lowered, a thought I couldn't read hanging in the air between us. If I could just reach out and grab it...

Another thought occurred to me, making me turn behind my seat and look through the car doors in search of the food cart. "Al, you didn't get anything. You want something to eat?"

I looked back to see Ed giving me that small smile again. He shook his head, answering for his brother.

"He ate a lot on the way over here. Almost seems like the guy never stops eating, so it's a relief when he finally does!"

I laughed behind my hand. "I'll believe that!"

"So what brings you to Central City?" Al asked me, keeping his hands in his lap.

"Oh, that's right." I opened my bag, digging around for a moment. "You're a State Alchemist, Ed, you'll probably be able to help me with this."

I sensed Ed's interest grow, and when I turned back, he was leaning forward. I revealed the silver pocket watch, watching interest overtake his face.

"I found it nearby my house." I explained, shifting the watch slightly, hearing the beginning of the chain sound against the metal body. "I was hoping to return it to Central; it'd be pretty bad if this ended up in the wrong hands."

Ed looked up, meeting my eyes. "Have you opened it?"

I shook my head, and at his soft request, I handed the watch over. As my fingers uncurled from the watch, they brushed over Ed's palm. But the feeling of his skin was purely flat. Hard, even beneath the glove.

I returned my hand to my lap, silently regarding his hand before looking back to the watch. He had popped the accessory open, diligently studying the inside.

"Nope." The watch flipped closed with a flick of the wrist. "No engraving. I can't tell who this belongs to."

"I didn't know it was standard practice to engrave it." I said, and as Ed moved to give the watch back, I held up my hands. "It might be better if you hold onto it, Ed. I'll probably be seen as some sort of imposter if I keep it with me."

"Oh," Ed moved, putting the watch in the pocket of his red cloak, "Right. Nice thinking."

I smiled, and for the next few moments, a silence came between the three of us. I looked down, noticing the champagne still in my hand. A blush ran across my face.

"Thank you very much for the champagne."

Ed gave me that same smile. Sincere. That's a good word for it.

"You're welcome." he said my name again, and I felt my heart swell, growing a bit more.

I smiled, my gaze dropping before catching sight of the chain clipped to his pants. The color contrast made it visible, and again I brought up the topic.

"So, a State Alchemist?"

Ed nodded, reaching into his pocket to hold the watch in his hand. The familiar emblem reflected off the sun's light, displayed proudly.

"I hope you won't get the watches confused." I commented.

"Don't worry about it." Ed replied, shaking his head. "I've got mine engraved, so I'll be able to tell even if it gets unclipped."

This caught my interest. "What's engraved in it?"

"A little bit of motivation." Light flickered off his eyes, my stomach flipping.

"It's been about five years since you've past the State Alchemy exam, hasn't it, Brother?" Al asked, the question forcing my stare to him.

"Yeah." Ed pocketed the watch again. "And it'll be six in just a few months."

"Wow," I said, unable to help myself, "You made it in so young..."

"Yeah." he repeated softly. His face was turned to the side, one arm on the chair's rest, side of his hand hovering in front of his mouth. There was something about that position, the way the grey sky was visible in the windows behind him, that made me want to put that sight down on paper. But I wouldn't be able to get the lines right; the curves of his face, the lines lightly etching in between his thin brows. My art would pale in comparison to the real thing.

He caught me staring and I looked away, trying to hide the bit of dignity I had left.

"So what have you been up to all these years?" he asked me.

"I just opened up my own school." I answered. "So I've been pretty busy with that."

"What do you teach?" Al asked me.

I told him, seeing a mischievous grin come to Ed's face. He playfully elbowed his brother's arm. "We know some martial arts ourselves, don't we, Al?"

"Yeah, Teacher taught us."

"That's so cool!" I said. "What style do you do?"

Ed and Al shared a look; then Ed put his hands up, defeated. "We actually never asked before. There wasn't a lot of time before she started throwing punches."

I laughed a little, listening as he continued. "As long as we can get away, that's really all that matters."

"I agree." I said, nodding. I took a sip of my champagne, the taste bringing me back. I forced away the memories. "This teacher of yours sounds pretty great."

"She is." Al said. "We've been her students for a while now."

I nodded in response, not wanting to pry. I had done that more than I needed to today, something I now felt guilty for.

"Hey, you alright?"

I looked up to see Ed leaning towards me, one hand extended out towards my knee but not touching it. I nodded, blushing a little.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just keeping quiet. I've asked you both enough questions!"

"Nonsense." Ed leaned back, smiling again. This time, my stomach fluttered a bit. "But we have been talking a lot about ourselves, you're right about that. Are you still drawing? How're your parents?"

"They're... They're good." I replied, looking down at my champagne. I took a small sip before saying, "We don't talk very much, but they're good."

"And your art?" Al asked. "I think I remember some chalk drawings outside our house."

I smiled. "Yeah, I always drew transmutation circles. Sometimes inside more artistic drawings, like bellies of dragons."

"You'd always try to invent new circles." Ed added, grinning a little as he looked at me.

"Yeah. I still play around with them sometimes. Doodling on documents I probably shouldn't."

We laughed a bit at that, all three of us. I sipped my drink again, a little more relaxed.

"So how's your mom doing?" I asked, the question slipping from me.

The response was like stepping into a graveyard. I saw Ed's face, saw Al's eyes lower, and immediately pulled my statement back.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know—"

"She died." Ed began, his voice rougher than usual. "She passed away when we were around ten."

No words came to me. I felt tears well up behind my eyes, my memories of Trisha now incredibly, bitter sweetly agonizing.

"I'm so sorry."

The pain was released a little, and I bent forward as a sob escaped me. She was gone... She'd been gone for so long, and I didn't even know.

What... What had I been doing when she died? What useless thing had I been wasting my time doing when she slipped away from this world?

"Don't..." Ed's voice, but words escaped from him as well.

I kept my hand over my mouth, tears free-falling to the floor. I was sobbing, the pain racking my body as I heard Ed call my name.

He dropped to his knees, his hands coming to my shoulders. I opened my eyes, lifting my head up enough to meet his stare. Those golden eyes were hurting just as much as I was. No. More. Even more. I saw tears come into his eyes as another sob wracked through my body.

_I'm so sorry._ I couldn't speak the thought. It repeated over and over, and I hoped Ed could hear it. I hope they both could hear it.

"I am, too." Ed whispered. He still kept my gaze, and slowly, I began focusing more on the eyes in front of me. They were solid, real. Alive.

My breathing began stabilizing, heaviness coming back to my once feather-weight lungs. I looked down as I brought my hand away from my mouth, memories of Trisha still burned into my mind's eye. How could I have not known? How could I be finding out just now?

"We didn't tell you." Ed began. His hands were still on my shoulders, and I focused on the warm one. The one on my right shoulder; his left. "We were too ashamed, trying to fix what we'd done."

My focus snapped to his other hand. The _metal_ hand. Hard, cold. Completely unlike his other.

I couldn't get the words out. I couldn't ask what they had done. A large, large part of me was still fighting to be in the dark.

"We..." I wanted to scream, stop Ed's lips from moving again. _Don't say it‼_

His eyes closed, shutting tight.

"We tried to bring her back." His hands gripped my shoulders as pain overtook his face. As if he could no longer block out whatever image his mind was forcing him to watch.

"We tried to get her back again—and we failed."


	2. Central City

I stepped off the train, taking in the busy air that could only be Central City.

"This is amazing!"

"You've been here for about a minute." Ed commented, stepping beside me, suitcase swinging in one hand. "How can you tell this place is so great?"

"Just look at it!" I spun around, arms opening wide. "There's so many people here!"

"Well it _is_ Central for a reason." Ed grinned, Al stepping off the train behind him.

"We should get to headquarters extra fast." Al told his brother.

"Ah, yeah, you're right." Ed looked to me. "We gotta return that watch you found."

I nodded. We began walking away from the train, making our way through the thin crowd of people. I occupied myself by looking at as many faces as possible. Some crying, some refusing to let the tears break as they said their goodbyes. And there were many happy expressions, too. Laughter that accompanied hugs, embraces between lovers. I blushed at this, looking away in fear of intruding and ruining a special moment.

Suddenly, a large man stepped into our path. He was dressed in a blue uniform, decorated with a few badges on his collar and stripes running along the tops of his shoulders. I hardly noticed these details. My focus was taken by how _muscular_ he was.

His hands were on his hips, eyes shut and pink sparkles dancing around his face.

"Elric Brothers!" he said, mustache bouncing with every majestic word. "My heart warms at the sight of seeing you in Central again. I've longed for the day and now I can't believe it's finally here!"

Edward stepped up beside me, a smile on his face that almost looked nervous. "Yeah, it's nice to see you too, Major." He turned towards me, then lifted a palm out as he spoke to the muscular man again.

His introduction was quick, just saying my name and how I was new to Central. I felt a flash of annoyance. I mean, it was mostly _true_ —I'd only been to Central once, when I was little—but how the heck did he KNOW?!

The man's eyebrows rose, the curling swirl that made up his hair bouncing at his surprise.

"New to Central? Then allow me to show you—" His shirt suddenly gave way to rippling muscles, allowing his body to strike an equally flattering pose. My mouth dropped open. "—The physique that's been passed down the Armstrong line for generations! A true sight to behold, wouldn't you agree?"

I forced my mouth closed and blushed a little, listening as Ed turned away, voice annoyed.

"We're really not in the mood for a muscle show, Major!"

Armstrong's bicep was suddenly in Ed's face, muscle bulging rhythmically. "Nonsense! Look at the form! The structure! You can't see art like this in museums, Edward Elric!"

"Get that thing away from me!"

When I turned, Ed had both hands on the Major's arm, trying to push it away.

"See? It's magnetic! You can't resist the beauty!"

"Will you shut up?!"

I laughed behind my hand. Ed's face relaxed, eyes looking at me. I barely saw something of a blush creep up before Armstrong stood, towering over all of us.

"Well this was very memorable, but I must get back to my duties." His pec muscles tightened, chest flexing as if it was a wave goodbye. "I bid you all farewell!"

We said our goodbyes, and after picking up the tattered remains of his shirt, Armstrong left. I watched Ed sigh, posture hunching.

"That guy is a handful sometimes."

"Especially when you're gripping his arm like that!" I teased.

We all started walking away as Ed scoffed, that annoyance coming back to his face. "Yeah, right. You probably enjoyed that, didn't you?"

"Enjoyed you being embarrassed or how muscular that guy was?"

Ed looked away from me, hands in his pockets as something of an irritated groan came from him. I laughed again, Alphonse joining me this time.

"Major Armstrong does get a little bit excited sometimes, but he is really nice..."

Ed glanced towards his younger brother. "Yeah, I guess." he replied, looking ahead again. "This place wouldn't be the same without him."

Al nodded. I briefly retraced the strange conversation we had with Armstrong, a thought occurring to me. As we exited the train station and entered a sunny strip of shops, I looked behind myself towards Al, making sure to regard both of them as I spoke.

"So how's Winry doing? Is she still in touch with you guys?"

"Uh, yeah," Ed answered, glancing at me from the corner of his eye, "We only go back for mechanic work but she's alright. In a relationship with some guy from Dublith, which is interesting." I couldn't read the tone of his voice; a roughness was touching his words... I listened, looking down at the road ahead as he continued. "Last I heard, they were making plans to marry."

I suddenly caught on, the tone clicking. "But Winry's still young, isn't she? There's always time for things to change."

Ed looked at me, seeming surprised. He smiled, a bit embarrassed as he put his hands up in defense. "Oh, no, I'm not talking about myself. Al had a little thing for her, so it was kind of a bummer when we found out, that's all."

"Thanks, _Brother._ " The teen in the metal suit looked absolutely devastated, stopping in his tracks.

We stopped walking and Ed turned to his younger sibling, a grin on his face. "Hey, what kind of brother would I be if I didn't tell everyone about your crushes?"

Al began walking again, our pace continuing as he said, "You had a thing for her, _too_ , you know."

"Yeah, when I was like seven." Ed hurried in front of us, pointing to a shop on the corner. "Is that a bakery up there? It's been years since I had something."

He dashed off, leaving me to watch Al's head move in a half-circle, a sigh sounding against the helmet of his suit. The equivalent of rolling his eyes in such heavy armor, I suppose. Either way, I laughed against my hand, my amusement mainly directed at Edward.

By the time we entered the shop, Ed was already buying something. I stepped up beside him, watching as he was handed a hot croissant from over the display counter.

"Don't you have some important Alchemist business to attend to?" I asked.

Ed scoffed, handing over more money than necessary and holding his hand up to the cashier trying to figure out how to give him change. Her face was dumbstruck, but Ed ignored it, replying to me.

"Please. That can wait; we're in no hurry to put the leashes back on."

He ripped off a piece of the croissant with his mouth and immediately dropped it, his mouth burning.

"HOT HOT HOT!"

Al giggled, the sound funny in itself, considering the suit it was coming from. "You're just avoiding another lecture from Mustang, aren't you, Brother?"

Ed stopped the frantic waving of his arms, tongue hanging out for a second before he recovered, straightening to his full (still not too tall) height.

"Of course not, Al." he was saying. "Trust me, I could take that hot head any day of the week." He turned to me, giving that soft smile again. "We just have a guest, that's all."

I put both my hands up, flustered at the attention. "Oh no, please, let me know if I'm being a burden."

"Nonsense." Ed walked up to me, hooking an arm around my shoulders and swinging us both around to face the counter again. "I'm buying again. What would you like?"

" _Brother..._ " Al sighed, "You can't avoid him forever..."

Ed turned to look over his shoulder, about to protest. I took the opportunity to slip out from underneath his arm, diligently putting it back to his side. The look on his face was almost something of disappointment.

"It really seems like you guys are busy." I began again. "And you already have the watch I found, Ed, so I guess my work here is done!"

The State Alchemist shook his head. "They'll probably want to question you, get some idea of what you saw." I opened my mouth, but he shut down the words before they even escaped. "Even if you didn't see anything. If I turn this in, they'll be questioning me to no end. And I wouldn't know what to say 'cause I didn't find the thing."

"Yeah, you're right." I turned around, looking past the shop's windows and into the strip. "We should get this over with. Where do I need to go again?"

"We're heading in the same direction." Ed replied, leading us out of the shop. "Leave it us."

"Yeah!" Al exclaimed, putting both hands in the air. "We'll be your escorts!"

I laughed lightly, taking his huge arm in both of mine. "Yeah, in a dangerous town like Central? Al, you're such a kid!"

"I'm not a kid!" We all stopped walking, watching Al put his other fist against his hip. His eyes closed, head tilting upwards proudly. "I'm almost seventeen!"

"Point made." Ed grinned, laughing along with me. He turned to me, suddenly serious. "But what you said about Central. Don't underestimate this place. There's been some really bad stuff going on lately."

I let go of Al's arm, listening as the teen in the suit spoke. "Yeah..."

"What's been going on lately?" I asked, walking with them again.

I saw Ed shake his head, dismissing my question. "Nothing to worry yourself with. Military business. Top secret stuff." He looked upwards, towards the roofs of the buildings.

"Central Headquarters is a few minutes away." he said. "We should be there soon."

* * *

"So? What'dya think?"

I turned away from Ed's grin, looking around the halls as we passed by.

"Well it's not what I expected." I told him. "I guess I've always imagined Headquarters to be... A little darker..."

"Huh."

I didn't know what to make of Ed's response, hearing him turn away from me to look at the many windows shining bright afternoon light inside.

"Yeah, guess you're right." he responded finally. "After everything the military's done..."

His words trailed off, leaving only our footsteps to echo down the hallway. Alphonse was following behind, the steps of his suit much louder than our own. I wondered how he manages to stay in that thing for so long.

The hall we were walking along ended, leading to a room with a few tables and chairs. I caught a glimpse of a few books lying around before spotting a man walking by.

"Hey, Hughes!"

The man turned at Edward's voice, glasses flickering off light. He grinned, widely waving to us as we all met in the center of the room.

"Hey there!" he called. "Seems like it's been a long time since I've seen you two back in Central. That kidnapping case took a lot out of you, huh?"

Ed sighed. "Yeah, it was a tough one."

Hughes turned to me, putting a hand to his chin. "This wouldn't happen to be the girl that was missing, would it?"

I quickly shook my head, saying I was just a long-time friend of Ed and Al's. Hughes grinned, and the next moment my hand was being shaken like there was no tomorrow.

"Well my name is Maes Hughes, it's very nice to meet you!" My hand was suddenly released, and I watched Hughes reach into his pocket. Beside me, Edward braced, a nervous look coming to him as Hughes spoke.

"And really what would an introduction be without—" A photo was suddenly in my face. "—My darling daughter, Elicia!"

I leaned back, getting far enough away to examine the photo and see a girl. Her light brown hair in twin pigtails, one finger at the edge of her smiling mouth.

"Elicia just turned five the other day! Five! Can you _believe it?!_ " His voice curled up into a higher pitch at the end, and despite feeling a little weirded out I gave my best response.

"Five?" I repeated. "No... No way..."

"Hughes!" A voice I considered my savior barked. "Don't you have something else to do?"

I turned, seeing a man walk forward and stop near the east entrance of the room. A blonde haired woman was trailing behind him, a clipboard held against her chest.

The picture of Elicia was brought away from me. Hughes straightened, speaking to the other man.

"Oh, hey, Brigadier." he said. "Well, to be honest, I was just on my way to get some coffee. Been working pretty hard on this Boiler Room case lately."

"Boiler Room?" Ed asked, shifting his weight to one side. "You guys are still working on that?"

Hughes nodded, suddenly serious. "It's a tricky situation, Ed. Don't underestimate it. There's a lot of factors involved that we just can't piece together quite yet."

"Huh."

I sensed Ed spin around, and before he could finish saying "well, see ya later then!" I grabbed his waving arm.

"Isn't this your job?" I asked, concerned.

Ed sent me a harsh stare, and instantly I felt like I was out of line for asking. I heard Hughes hum in thought, and when I turned around, he was speaking directly to Ed.

"You know, having an extra pair of eyes on this case wouldn't be such a bad idea. What'dya say, Ed? You mind sticking around for a few minutes to read over the files?"

"Uh…" Ed blinked a few times; thoughts probably leaving him. He gave a weak grin. "Well, I just saw Mustang pass by and—"

"Ah, c'mon." Hughes waved a hand. "That guy's not goin' anywhere. It'll just take a few minutes, promise!"

Ed sent me that same face again, and I could almost hear his thoughts. _Look at what you did‼_

I was ashamed to say the least, masking the failure with a dumbstruck smile. I let go of his arm as he lowered it back down, turning to his superior in defeat.

"Yeah, sure, I'll look over the files."

"Great! And while you're doing that, I'll entertain your friend here with more photos of my daughter, Elicia!"

Ed gave me a cynical smile, and I couldn't help but bow my head. I stifled a sigh. If karma existed, this was definitely it.

* * *

"Now which photo do you like more?"

I scanned over the three he was holding out. All of them looked pretty much the same; just different shots of different outfits with different cutesy props. I suddenly grew nervous, seeing his intense eyes watch me from above the photos.

"I... I don't know!" I said, faking the enthusiasm again. "They're all so cute. I couldn't pick just one of them!"

" _Right?_ " Hughes gushed, even going so far as to put his hands up to his face. "I couldn't pick either; it's absolutely _impossible!_ "

Walking footsteps came to my left. My head turned towards the noise, heart leaping at the chance for a distraction. Ed walked past us, hand outstretched above the table.

"The owner of the pet shop did it." The folder fell on the table between us, slapping down and fluttering some photos in the air.

"Wha—" Hughes opened the files again, immediately pouring over them. "How do you know?!"

Ed rolled his shoulders, and briefly I heard metal clicking together. "His testimony doesn't make any sense. The marks on his door were done with a knife, not cat claws. He staged the alibi, plain and simple."

Hughes gave a hum of agreement as he nodded. Then he closed the thick folder, flapping it at me as he spoke. "See, that's what happens when you're too close to something. You can't see the bigger picture and miss out on what you were searching for in the first place!"

"Yeah." Ed replied, clearly not caring as he picked up the suitcase he had set on the floor near me. "We should probably get going—" He suddenly looked around, mouth dropping into a wide frown. "Where the heck did Al go?!"

"Oh, he left for the library." I replied. My stare went to the wall on my left, checking the time. "I told him to come back at a quarter-after, so he should be here any minute…"

Ed sighed, scuffing his boot against the floor as he slumped over to me and Hughes.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Edward sat down on the chair besides mine, one hand supporting his jaw as he leaned over the table. "Oh, nothing. I just get worried about that big lug being alone sometimes!"

I laughed, giggling behind my hand. "He's in a giant suit of armor! Who's going to try and do anything?"

"You'd be surprised..."

I caught Hughes staring at me, giving a look I couldn't read. Almost... Surprise?

"Is there something wrong?" I asked quietly.

The State Alchemist shook his head, wiping the expression from his face. "No, nothing." His hand moved, lifting the folder in a small gesture. "Thanks for your help on this case, Ed. It's appreciated." He stood up before noticing all of the photos still on the table.

A grin overtook his face. "But before I go, let's finish up all these pictures of Elicia!"

A collective groan met this statement, but I quickly turned mine into a laugh.

"I—can't wait!" I said, forcing a smile.

"Great!" Hughes gushed, reaching into his pockets to pull out more photos. They spilled from his hands and onto the table, littering the folder he had set down.

"Can't we do something else?!" Ed groaned.

Hughes put his hands on his hips. "Y'know you're probably going to want kids some day, too, Ed. Might as well learn to like other people's."

"I... I do like Elicia!" Ed put his hands up nervously. "She's a doll, honest!"

" _Isn't she?!_ "

I looked past Hughes' gushing face, noticing that same guy walking around again, the blonde lady with him. He was holding something up and looking to her, almost in question if he should use it or not. She just shook her head, patience never faltering.

"Hey. Mustang. Wait up." Ed stood, grabbing my arm along with him.

I turned to Hughes and said my goodbyes as Ed pulled me away, walking a little too quickly to still be polite. In the next moment, we were stopped in front of the guy I assumed to be Mustang.

"What is it, Fullmetal?" he asked.

I turned to Ed, hoping for clarification on the name. He only dug around in his pocket, revealing the watch I gave him earlier. "Here, before you start getting on me about that case in North City."

When Mustang didn't respond, I looked up from the watch, nearly jumping when I saw him staring at me.

"Who's your friend?" Mustang asked Ed.

Ed's shoulder motioned to me as he told him how I was "an old friend of his and Al's." A better intro than before...

Mustang glanced back to me, deep eyes meeting mine before he gave a curt nod. I couldn't help the smile that came to my face as I nodded back, a little flustered at being included like this.

Mustang turned back, finally acknowledging the watch in Ed's hand. "It's a pocket watch. What about it?"

"It's not _mine._ "

Mustang's interest perked, and he looked towards me. I stepped forward a bit, looking to the watch in Ed's palm and reciting the memory.

"I found this outside my house. I live in Lautoxan, so it's a little rare to see something like this lying around."

I watched Mustang nod, surprise on his face as he took the watch from Ed's hand. He raised it up to the light, and a moment later, he grunted, as if noticing something.

"What?" Ed asked.

A crack suddenly split down the middle of the watch. Surprise and shock came from Ed and I, Ed's voice rising.

"W-What'd you do that for?!"

Mustang remained calm.

"This watch is a fake." he said. "Someone's been impersonating a dog of the military."

"Someone would do that?" I asked, regarding the now broken watch. "Why go to all the trouble?"

"I dunno." He tossed the watch back to Ed, who quickly caught it with both hands. "But Ed, I want you to find out. Don't screw this up like that last case you did."

I could practically see steam rising from Edward as he yelled at the back of Mustang's head. An arm raised in response, waving to both of us as he walked away.

"I gotta go do some really important Brigadier duties." he said, almost yawning the words.

"Yeah right! Why don't you turn something in early for once?!"

Ed gave a quiet sigh, relaxing. I had both my hands by my face, a little scared at the outburst. After staring at the watch in his hands for another moment, he looked to the Brigadier again.

"Wait a minute," Ed called, "How'd you know this was a fake?"

Mustang looked over his shoulder, taking one hand out of his pocket to give a half-shrug.

"Whoever made this was short on steel and infused what little they had with pewter, making it easier to break under some weight." he explained, turning back. "Some basic Alchemy, Fullmetal."

I looked back to Ed, again wondering about the strange name. Edward was almost steaming again, gritting his teeth as he pushed up one of his sleeves.

"I'll show you some basic Alchemy, you flame retardant piece of—"

"Brother!" Footsteps were banging against the ground, and I looked to see Al waving as he ran up to us.

"Oh, hey, Al." Ed replied. He was perfectly calm, showing no signs of the worry he expressed earlier. "Heard you were at the library. You find anything good?"

Al shook his head. "Just some stuff on transmuting food."

Ed sighed. "Some more cooking alchemy?"

"You'll never know when we'll need it, Brother!"

Ed turned to me. "You can cook, right?"

A deep pain flashed inside my chest—memories of that same question being asked by a different voice. I blinked, recovering much quicker than I expected to, saying the first thing that came to mind.

"Why? You can't?"

The comment struck a nerve. Ed's face went red. "I-I can, too!"

Al giggled, the sound reverberating within his armor. "Burning fish doesn't count, Brother!"

"Hey, we got a lot better at making those by the time Teacher showed up again."

"Oh!" Al looked down, suddenly noticing something. He pointed to it. "The watch in your hands... It broke."

Ed followed his stare to his own hand. "Oh yeah."

He tossed the item upwards, catching it again. "Someone's been disguising themselves as a State Alchemist, and we gotta find out who. So looks like we're catching the next train back to Lautoxan."

I barely hid my burst of fear. "Why my town?" I asked.

Ed looked to me. "Well I figure it's best to go back to the scene of the crime. Your house _is_ back in Lautoxan, right?"

Memories flashed, pelting equally dark feelings against my heart. I took Ed's arm, trying to laugh the pain away from reaching my face. "Why head back now? This is my first time seeing Central, isn't it?"

"Yeah but there's not much else to see. You already walked down most of the best shops and you've been as far as you can go inside Headquarters... And besides, this case just got opened, so we shouldn't wait to start investigating."

I silently cursed myself, stifling a sigh. Ed didn't move to take his arm out from my hold, and noticing this, I quickly broke our contact. "Sorry!"

Ed just shrugged one shoulder, looking at me with a face I couldn't read. Then he rolled his neck, facing forward again.

"Guess we're on the next train back."

They both walked forward, heading towards the exit. I waited for a few moments, willing myself to step forward and join them. I forced myself to move, knowing I had to.

I just didn't think I'd be returning home so soon...


	3. Coming Home

"Well, here we are!"

I couldn't bring myself to act like I was happy about Ed's announcement. I stayed standing by the opening of the white picket fence, barely on my own property. I guess it _was_ my house, after what happened, but right now I was feeling like this building was the one owning _me_. I couldn't move. Couldn't reply to Ed's comment, couldn't look up to meet their stares. My eyes closed instead, trying to hide away in that darkness. I didn't want to be here again...

"You said the watch was outside?"

I looked up as Al turned towards me. A hint of surprise sounded from him, making me realize how obvious my emotions were. I swallowed, trying to distract myself by looking at Edward. But he was standing still, too, his face expressing the light concern that Al's couldn't.

In response to the younger Elric's question, I nodded, keeping my knuckles against my mouth. Realizing I had to speak, I carefully tilted my hand away, pointing a little with one finger. "Near the porch. To the left side."

Al went to look in the spot I directed him to, and I raised a hand to my hair, shielding my eyes away from Ed's. Doing all that I could to avoid his stare. Eventually, finally, his feet moved, bringing him and his curiosity away from me.

_I deserve it._ This thought nearly broke me. Being near this house... Being here again... Everything was too much.

"No, I'm not seeing anything." Ed's voice was the foreground to the sound of bushes rustling.

I saw him turn away, starting back towards me with both hands in the pockets of his coat, head held a bit high. "Guess there's nothing here, Al. We should look some other place."

I guess Al caught on to what his brother was actually saying, because the teen in the suit just nodded once. Not protesting about how they had just started looking, or how they hadn't even checked around the back of the house. Or inside...

My lungs contracted at the thought of stepping into those dark rooms again. I suddenly felt a gentle tug against my coat, seeing Ed pass by me. His fingers slipped away from my clothes, pressure leaving as softly as it had come. I obeyed the motion, turning around and stepping through the entrance of the white picket fence again, feeling a little bit like I could breathe.

I walked a few steps behind Ed, hearing Al's footsteps echo behind ours.

"Do you think someone would remember seeing a State Alchemist here?" Alphonse asked.

Ed nodded, keeping his hands behind his head. "That's what I'm thinking. Figure if that pocket watch was used at all, someone around here would remember it."

We passed by the corner of the fence, and after a few more steps, we were officially off the property.

I looked towards the home of my next door neighbor as we started by. Someone who had greeted me the day we both moved in. I shut out the memory, the sight of his face... Of the note...

"Should we ask them?" Al's voice, talking about the neighboring home.

"Doesn't look like they're home." his elder brother responded. "We'll try again later."

I knew what he was doing before I looked in the window as we passed by. Faint shadows moved behind the curtains. One of them sitting on an armchair, the other moving around.

We stepped up on the porch of the second house. Hearing Al's footsteps stop, I looked a little bit behind me, seeing him stand near the front lawn. I turned back as Ed approached the door, knocking with his left hand.

An old woman answered, and I recognized her instantly. Mrs. Silva.

"Yes? Can I help you, young man?"

"Hi," Ed began, a light smile in his voice, "I'm a State Alchemist, and I'm conducting an investigation about a crime that happened nearby. I was wondering if you had any time to answer a few questions."

"State Alchemist?" she repeated. "Oh, it's been a long time since I've seen one of those."

I sensed Ed and Al's interest perk. Ed moved his coat, and I heard the chain of his watch sound as he withdrew it from his pocket.

"Do one of these look familiar to you? Have you seen one lately?"

The woman shifted her glasses, the lens catching light as she focused.

"Not in a long while. My husband was a State Alchemist, but he passed away three years ago."

"He was in the military." Ed paraphrased, a softness in his voice. He returned the watch to his pocket. "I'm sorry."

The widow shook her head. "I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help to you, young man."

"It's alright." Ed slid a foot back, preparing to step away. "Well, thanks for your time, then."

The old lady nodded softly. She began to turn away, head bowing slightly before perking back up. Behind her glasses, I saw her squint at me. And then, she did what I was silently pleading for her not to: she recognized me.

She spoke my name, the word like a bullet to my chest. The flash of pain came a second time before she continued on. "Is that you? It's been ages since I've seen you, dear. I figured you and that nice gentlemen moved out!"

I felt tears sting my eyes and forced them down. I was _not_ letting them break. I ignored the fact that Ed had turned around when she called my name. I ignored his stare, keeping my focus on my friendly neighbor as much as possible.

"I'm still here!" I said, faking the enthusiasm horribly. "I've just been busy, that's all."

"Hm." Her glasses shifted as she adjusted them. "Well, don't be a stranger anymore, dear! It's been a long time, and Lord knows I'm not getting any younger, that's for sure."

I hooked a grin onto my face. "Of course. I'll come by and visit soon."

She smiled, and after exchanging goodbyes with the alchemist in front of me, closed the door.

Ed spun himself around, and I was surprised he didn't question any part of that conversation. He only passed by me again, voice depressingly quiet.

"Let's keep going..."

I watched him stride over the small series of steps on the porch, my own feet soon following after. I took the steps one at a time, moving on the balls of my feet as if the steps would somehow break with enough pressure. I heard Al's voice ask how we did.

"Nothing yet." Ed responded. "But we got a lot of houses to go. Someone's gotta remember seeing something." He turned to me. "You don't have to stick around..."

I shook my head. "No, it's okay." It was something to focus on, something to distract myself with. What else would I be doing, anyway?

I shut out the memories trying to drag me back, focusing on Ed as he nodded at my response. That look was back on his face; the one that felt like he was trying to figure me out.

Finally, he turned away, starting around the fence and down the sidewalk again. "Well, okay... If you say so..."

We kept going door to door with similar, unyielding results. There were very few people who recognized me, though; my breath kept catching in my throat whenever the door would open, my heart seeming to stop as the neighbor's eyes glanced over all of us. Most of the time, no one recognized me, and this allowed me to breathe until heads were shaken and the door shut again.

It wasn't until the fifth house that our luck began to change. Ed began to go through the same routine as before, but he was interrupted at the mention of being a State Alchemist.

The guy he was trying to interview threw his head back. "UGH. Another one!"

Everyone's interest grew at that statement.

"What do you mean 'another one?'" Ed asked.

The man shook his head, stepping back a little. "Look, I already gave one of your military buddies all of the peanuts I had."

Ed and I blinked, completely lost.

" _Peanuts?_ " Ed repeated.

The door began to close, but Edward stepped forward, forcing it open with a foot. "Wait! This guy you're talking about. Do you remember what he looked like or why he needed the… uh, peanuts?"

The door opened again with a growl. The man had one hand against his hair, thinking hard.

"I don't know. Brown hair. Wearing a pretty thick coat. I just remember he wouldn't shut up about needing all this stuff."

"What else did he take?"

"Just kinda basic household items. He left with my bleach, too."

"Do you remember where he went?"

The man leaned forward, suddenly angry. "I dunno; why don't you go ask the next house instead!"

Ed snatched his foot back just as the door slammed shut.

The alchemist spun around. "Well, we finally got our lead!"

"I hope the next person we ask is a little more friendly..." Al said as Ed and I approached him.

"Doesn't matter!" Ed tossed the broken pocket watch upwards and caught it again. "We've got a good idea of who we're looking for now, so from here on out it's a total cake walk!"

But hours later, we'd gone through so many houses. Ed was on the ground, exhausted, and I had to lean against Al in order to stand up.

Ed put his hands on his hair, squirming in anger. "WHY THE HECK CAN'T WE FIND THIS GUY?!"

"Well, we did get a lot of information on him." I opened up the notebook in my bag, thumbing past drawings and sketches.

Al noticed these, finger pointing and stopping the pages from moving. "Hey! You're drawing transmutation circles again!"

I grinned up at him, hiding the fear away. "Y-yeah. I still do that from time to time."

Ed sat up, turning to looking behind himself and stare at me. "You were gonna say something?"

I remembered, nodding and continuing to turn to the right page. Not too quick, not too eager. I wanted to make sure I looked like these drawings were normal to me. Completely nothing.

I found the right page, stopping on it and scanning down the list of ingredients. Words I heard the townspeople mention. I read everything off, including the rough unit of measurement. Ounce of this, a small amount of that.

When I was done, neither of them said anything. I began to wonder what was wrong when Ed snapped his fingers from his place on the ground, as if suddenly remembering something.

"Aster flowers." he recalled, pointing one finger towards me. "Plants have a pretty high concentration of magnesium in them."

"Oh." I quickly wrote that one down, adding it to the bottom of the list. I suddenly remembered where that ingredient came from. A house with a girl around my own age; she'd been flirting with Ed constantly, and I had to make small talk with Al in order to avoid it.

I shook the memory away, looking over the list again. My eyes stopped on the second ingredient.

"But why the need for bleach?" I asked, pen in between my teeth.

"Dunno." Ed responded. "Maybe to try and throw off whoever was wanting to follow him."

"Or maybe he needed his kitchen clean." Alphonse chimed in. Ed just stared at his younger brother and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah," Ed responded, a smile in his voice, "I'm sure that was it, Al."

He got up from the ground, looking to the side as he stood up. I followed his stare, noticing the sun was setting.

"We should probably call it quits for now." he said, putting his hands in his pockets.

My heart momentarily stopped beating. This was it—they were going to ask to stay the night. I couldn't go back into that house. Not after being out again—

"There's some kind of inn around here, right?" Ed asked me.

I looked to him, feeling more appreciation than I could remember having. I don't know how he was this perceptive, but I was so thankful for it.

"Yeah." I replied. "I've never been to it, but it's fairly close to the station."

"Works for me." Ed walked away, starting down the sidewalk again. He left as Al bowed to me, low enough to show respects for both of them.

"Thanks for everything." Alphonse said. "It was nice to meet you—again!"

Hearing footsteps stop, I looked away from a nervous Al to see Edward turning to stare at me from over his shoulder. One golden eyebrow raised.

"You're staying with us, aren't you?" Ed asked. "In case you remember anything about the watch."

I've never felt so indebted to someone. The relief on my face was obvious, a soft grin arriving on my lips as I placed a hand to my chest. "Yes, of course."

Al straightened. He briefly shifted his head in the direction of my house, and I sensed something click in that brain of his. I was thankful once again. I couldn't explain even if I wanted to.

No; I could explain... I just didn't want to.

I tried to hold back the weight that set into my heart. I looked up, hearing Ed call my name.

"You comin'?"

"Y-Yes." I replied. I hurried over, smoothing out my knee-length skirt. My strides matched theirs, following behind Ed and placing me next to Al.

"So," Al began, turning his head towards me, "Do you draw anything else besides transmutation circles?"

"Uh." I saw Ed look towards me, watching from behind his shoulder, staring from the corner of his eye. "Y-yeah. I really don't sketch anymore, though. It's kind of a thing of the past." I tried to laugh this off, sure my casual tone was completely transparent.

"Yeah, that makes sense." Edward said, turning back. "We all have things we grow out of."

I sensed there was something more to that statement; like he was talking to himself in some way. My thoughts left me as Al spoke again.

"You're probably very busy with that martial art school you run, huh?"

"Al," Ed cut in, "Let's not bug her with so many questions, yeah?"

"N-No, it's fine!" I held one hand up. I had to seem like I was completely comfortable with this... "It makes sense; I mean, we haven't seen each other in so long, after all."

Ed looked at me again for a moment before turning back. He stayed quiet, allowing me to turn and answer Alphonse.

"I guess I am a little busy." I told him. "It's definitely hard work, with so many students and all."

"I bet!" Al put his hands in the air, like a little kid. "That's so awesome! They must be really lucky to have a teacher like you!"

I just smiled, trying to calm the feeling of my stomach dying. My expression fell as Al relaxed his arms, asking another question.

"But do you have to go back to teach soon?"

I understood his question; it hadn't even dawned on me.

"I... I don't know..." I told him, looking away. Part of my mind focused on the Flamel insignia on Ed's back, how smooth it looked over his slumped posture. "I guess maybe soon... Or I could always call, have someone else cover..."

I saw Ed glance back, his posture straightening a little, wrinkling the design again. Al replied, happier than ever.

"Great!" he said. "Maybe you could teach me how to draw—I've always wanted to learn!"

_Please don't make me._ I looked to him, faking the best grin I could. "Yeah, that would be fun!"

I heard Ed grin, laughing a little. "Maybe you'll stop drawing cats as stick figures, Al!"

"Hey! I sometimes draw them with legs!"

"Yeah," Ed held up a hand, creating the smallest amount of space in between his thumb and forefinger, "Legs that are this thin. They're completely malnourished!"

"It's not like your art is any better, Brother!"

"I never said mine was!"

"Well... At least I don't draw faces that look like puppets!"

"Puppets? Oh, you're talkin' about my drawing of Envy?" He laughed again. I was curious about the name but kept my thoughts to myself. I didn't want to ruin this moment with things that didn't concern me.

"That was years back." Ed continued, waving a hand away. "I'm sure I've gotten better since then!"

"Oh, yeah?" There was a challenge in Al's voice.

Ed stopped and turned around, a grin on his face. "Yeah." he returned.

Al stopped walking, and I halted beside him. The teen in the suit spoke again, voice directed at me.

"Can I see your sketchbook, please?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah. Of course." I ignored the feeling of complete doom as I got the book out of my bag again, feeling the dark weight leave my hand as Al took it along with a pen.

He offered both to Ed. "Prove it."

Ed just shifted his weight to one hip, grin becoming a little sharper as he took the utensils. "Prepare to eat your words, Al."

I felt more than a little nervous as he flipped open my sketchbook, his thumb releasing pages and speeding past hundreds of drawings. I didn't even realize how much I had drawn... Before…

My memories fled as Ed stopped at a blank page near the end. His pen was positioned at it, steady as the air around us grew a little tenser.

"What's a matter?" Al jeered, suddenly behind him and peering over his shoulder. Ed turned, trying to hide the sketchbook. "Afraid you're not really that good?"

"S-Shut up! I'm trying to figure out what to draw!"

"Hmmm..." Al looked around. "Well, I don't see any malnourished cats around..." He suddenly looked to me and pointed. My heart fell.

"Draw her?" Ed repeated, pen teetering in between his teeth. I failed to fight back a blush, remembering how it was in _my_ mouth as well.

Ed turned away and looked towards the sky, irritated. "Nah, I wouldn't be able to!" he said. He suddenly looked at me again, embarrassed as he reached to take the pen out of his mouth. His expression turned worried. "Not-Not that you wouldn't be a good subject of course!" he told me. "I just... Wouldn't be able to capture you, is all."

A blush came to his face as he realized his own words. Al leaned forward and Ed drew his face away from his brother.

"You mean you really _couldn't_ draw her?" Al asked, challenging him again.

"I... I didn't say that!" Ed yelled back.

"Then do it!" Al said, crossing his arms. "Prove me wrong!"

Ed sighed. "Fine..." To my surprise, he turned himself around with an exaggerated swing of the foot. "But after we get to the hotel. If I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna do it right."

I failed to keep the heat rising from my face again, watching Al walk behind his brother with a snicker. I smiled, falling into step behind them.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad...


	4. Capturing It

I kept my face turned to the side, staring at the same spot as before. The corner of the window, where the frame met the beginning of the curtains.

"Is this good?" I asked, my eyes looking in Ed's direction.

"Yeah, good enough, I guess." The alchemist grumbled. I smiled, and instantly heard his voice again. "Yeah, stay like that!"

I held my confusion away from my face, continuing to keep the same smile. I hoped this wouldn't take him very long. I could hear his pen making small strokes against the paper. The sound was almost comforting...

Al giggled a little from his spot on the kitchen's bar stool. To my surprise, Ed ignored him, continuing to focus. I wish I could see his face, or respond to Al... I could only keep staring at this one side of the room, this corner of the window... The darkness visible from the window wasn't really helping. Memories started flashing, a tightness slowly constricting my chest. I tried to breathe, and soon enough the smile dropped from my face.

The movements of Ed's pen stopped.

"Something wrong?" he asked me softly.

I did the worst thing a model could do; I broke my position, looking down. "Um, yeah." I tried to smile at him. "Can we take a break for a few minutes? My neck is getting a little sore."

Ed nodded. "Sure."

I tried to smile again in response, the expression faltering almost immediately. "Sorry." I raised a hand to the back of my head, smiling at my own foolishness this time.

"Don't worry about it." Ed told me. He looked away, stare going to the coffee table between us. We were separated between the table lengthwise; him sitting on an arm chair and myself taking up a small part of the loveseat.

"There's a menu for room service." Ed continued, bringing my stare to the piece of paper on the table. "If you're hungry."

"Oh, no." The words were automatic, conflicting the ache in my stomach. "I couldn't intrude like that!" My stomach, however, had to speak for itself; it growled loudly, the sound spiraling down and leaving me embarrassed.

Ed just grinned. "Dinner's on me then!"

* * *

I looked up from my bowl of noodles, stare traveling to Al, who was still sitting by the kitchen.

"Aren't you going to have something to eat, Al?" I asked him. "There's so much food here..."

"Oh, no!" Al held up one of the hands that was in his lap. "I can't eat, actually! I'm doing some very intense Alchemy training. Fasting's part of it!"

I vaguely caught the alarm in Ed's face drop away. He turned back to the chicken thigh in his hand, ripping a part of it into his mouth. I looked back down to my ramen, pushing the noodles around with my chopsticks. I laughed for a moment, pinching the sticks together and apart. "These things sure are strange! I read this is a dish that came from Xing."

"Yeah," Ed replied, leaning back, "Somewhere from the East side."

"I've always been fascinated with that country." My sticks picked up a few noodles, holding them away from the broth they were in. "Always wanted to go."

I looked up from my bowl, noticing Ed giving me that smile again. The small one I couldn't read... He looked down, eyes closing for a moment as he tossed the now meatless chicken wing. The bone landed on top of all the other ones he had stripped bare.

"Let me know when you're done eating." he said, putting his head back and keeping his feet on the coffee table. He relaxed a bit deeper into the chair, getting comfortable. "I'll finish that drawing..."

I smiled, wanting to tell him that we didn't have to keep going. But the sketch was important to him, for whatever competitive reasons he had. I turned back to my noodles, guiding them through my lips as quietly as I could.

* * *

"Al? Adjust her hair, would you?"

"Right." Al stepped forward, guiding a strand until it fell over my shoulder, draping past my chest and curling in front of my stomach. My hair was mostly straight, until the very tips. Then they looped in nearly full circles. It used to drive me nuts, the look of it... I'd prefer to have my hair completely straight if I could; more manageable, less noticeable...

"Perfect." Ed responded, focusing on his drawing again. I felt my fatigue reach beneath my eyes. What time was it?

I forced the question away, keeping my eyes wide. Ed kept sketching, the strokes of his pen becoming a little bit longer. Drawing my hair now, probably. I was glad the pen was more or less the right color, if not a little midnight blue. My hair was more obsidian, but I guess I couldn't change the ink Ed was using now.

I smiled a little more to myself. When was the last time I had been this interested in art?

_Before he left._ The thought wiped the smile off my face. Ed noticed again. He called my name softly, a wave of concern inside that single word.

I picked my lips up again, moving them into that same smile. I was fine; no need to worry, Ed.

I felt his stare on me before his eyes dropped away. He kept sketching, and once again I fell into the comfort of the sound. I didn't focus much on the act of drawing itself, but more so of the fact that he was doing it. Drawing with his human hand; his left one. I couldn't help but think of his automail. Wondering how hard that must be for him. To lose a body part like that...

I kept myself inside my own head until I noticed the sound of the pen had stopped. I resisted the urge to turn and look, instead waiting until Ed's tired voice reached my ears.

"I think it's done..."

I moved my head, feeling the muscles in my neck protest. "You're finished?"

He nodded, still focusing on the sketchbook in his lap. He held the pen between two fingers near his face, expression focused. I recognized it well; he wasn't sure what to make of his own work.

Al got up from his spot near me, quickly walking over to look behind his brother's shoulder. The teen in the suit bent down, and I couldn't help but notice their differences in size and width. I mean, Ed wasn't exactly very short, but Al was just BIG. How could a younger brother be so much bigger?

"Wow..." Al's voice echoed from inside his suit. "Brother, it's..."

Ed placed the pen in between his teeth, scowling at the drawing. "Still not good enough!" he finished.

Al retracted his head back, surprised. "What're you saying? It's amazing!"

Ed shook his head, hand going towards the page as if he was going to rip it out. "I didn't capture her right—"

Al caught his wrist, his reply flustered. "No! It's perfect, what are you talking about?"

"What are YOU talking about?" Ed echoed back, irritated as he looked to his brother. "I totally got her face wrong!"

"It looks fine!" Al turned to me, calling my name. "This drawing looks great, right?"

I stood up, feeling my knees ache a little. My left one, especially, since it had been supporting the other leg crossed on top of it. Ed saw the light flash of discomfort in my face, a tinge of guilt reaching his mouth. Curving it down.

"I'm alright." I assured him with a smile. He didn't smile back, instead turning down to the drawing as I came to stand beside him.

Cautiously, his hand tilted, shifting enough so I could see his work. I stared, not even blinking. This surpassed even some of my best sketches when I was at my peak. The details, the shading, the proportions... He'd captured everything just right!

The portrait was suddenly turned away from me. Ed's hand had grabbed the base of the paper, and terror shrieked through me as he began tearing the page out. "Still not good enough."

"No, Ed!" I caught his hand with both of mine, feeling his body tense. "It's perfect! I couldn't even draw something this good."

Ed didn't respond. I looked behind myself, seeing him stare at the drawing. The focus that was in his eyes; that determination. Something in my stomach turned, an excited chill fluttering through.

His golden eyes flicked up, meeting my dark ones. His stare came back to the drawing every now and then, comparing real life to his art. After a few minutes, he shook his head.

"I still didn't capture it right."

Al and I both sighed. I shifted, sitting on the front edge of the arm chair. My legs remained crossed as I stretched them out, extending the muscles I had kept in pose for so long. My hands were still holding Ed's, and even though this made me a little embarrassed I kept them there. Anything to keep him from tearing up that drawing he had slaved over. That wasn't even a work of art; it was a work of pure _talent_.

"What were you looking to capture?" I asked him, but he just shook his head.

I squeezed his hand, gently making my hold a little firmer. "Please don't rip it up." I told him. "No artist likes their own art, trust me."

"Yeah." he tsked quietly, and I could sense the extra words in his head. Things he wasn't saying.

"You... You can keep trying..." I told him. "Until this whole thing is done. If you want to."

"I'm... Not sure I could capture it..." He looked back down at the drawing again, the pointer finger of his left hand between two previous pages.

"It wouldn't hurt to try again." I said, looking at him. "Just promise me you won't tear it up."

He nodded, the determination in his face again. "Promise." he replied quietly.

"Alright, good." I released my hands from his, the warmth leaving me. I stepped away from the armchair, legs still a little stiff as I walked away. My arms stretched as I spoke through my small yawn. "I'm gonna go get some sleep, okay?"

"Yeah." Ed responded.

I turned to him, giving a smile he wasn't looking up to see.

"Ed."

Almost like he was forcing himself to, he looked away from the drawing, eyes meeting mine. I smiled a little more, heat tinging my cheeks.

"That drawing's incredible. Don't doubt yourself."

I saw a similar shade of pink touch his own face. He didn't respond right away, blinking once before looking back to my sketchbook.

"Thanks." he got out, stuttering a little. "You're, um, you're a pretty good model."

I raised a hand to the back of my head and tried to evade the compliment with a smile. "Well with so many breaks, it was a surprise you finished at all!"

This time, Ed turned to me, a small smile on his face.

"Don't doubt yourself." he told me.

It was my turn to smile, the blush on my face deepening in color.


	5. Blind

I padded out of the hotel's bedroom, noticing my sketchbook was on the kitchen table. I turned to Ed as he approached me, hands in the pockets of his coat.

"I figured you'd want it back." he told me with a smile.

I gave him a softer one as I replied. "Just until you'd like to draw again."

He just grinned, and I found something about the expression made my heart beat a little quicker. I smiled a bit more, a soft blush rising to my face.

Al's footsteps brought my focus away. I looked towards the noise as the teen in the suit stopped walking, standing on the other side of the kitchen tile, near the front door. He lifted a hand to me in a wave.

"Hey! Good morning!"

"Good morning!" I returned cheerily. "I didn't know you two were such early risers!"

Al hesitated, allowing Ed to fill the silence.

"Not sure if you'd count 9:30 as 'early', but—"

"It's already 9:30?!" My hands found my lips, horror reaching my eyes. "I'm so sorry; why didn't you two wake me up?!"

Ed just shrugged, avoiding my gaze. "You seemed tired after last night so we let you sleep in. No big deal; most people wouldn't like strangers bangin' on their doors this hour anyway."

I relaxed, realizing he had a point. "Well," I began, "I would still like to be awake; we won't be able to spend every single day together."

Ed looked at me, realizing what I said. Part of my mind realized what I just said, too, confirming how temporary this case was. How temporary our interactions were... Our friendships.

 _Will I go back?_ I asked myself. _After this is over?_

My heart plunged at the idea, and soon I saw a piece of paper being offered to me. One gloved hand holding it at the top.

"Here." he said. "Order some breakfast."

Realizing the challenge, I hitched a smirk onto my face, placing my hand on his and lowering the paper a little. "I'm not letting you pay for anything I have."

He grinned. "Let's just see who gets the bill first."

My hand slipped away from his, turning to Al. "Let's go out to eat! There's some restaurants around here, right?"

"That's a great idea!" Al told me. "There's a lot of places here!"

"Great!" My smile suddenly fell. "But... Are you still doing that alchemy fast?"

Al's eyes shrunk. "Uh." He suddenly grew nervous. "Y-yeah. But that doesn't mean I can't watch you guys eat!"

"O-okay." I mean, that was a little weird, and I felt really bad, but...

"It's alright!" Ed chimed in. "I'll eat enough for the both of us, Al!" He shot me a grin. "I'll pay for the bill, too!"

"WILL YOU STOP?!"

* * *

"Did you sleep alright?"

The thought left my mouth as soon as I had it, bringing my stare to Edward. He looked back, then nodded before taking another bite of his breakfast.

"Yeah, sure. Why wouldn't I?"

I blushed, looking down to my food. "Well, you were on the couch, after all." I turned to Alphonse, who sat across from me. "And you were against the _wall_ , Alphonse. That couldn't have been very comfortable…"

Ed waved a hand, dismissing it. "We've slept in worse places." he told me. "Couches and walls are a luxury, trust me."

I laughed a little bit, seeing that slight smile come to his face again. No more than a few minutes had passed by before I suddenly stopped eating, the utensil halfway to my mouth. My eyes locked onto Edward's, watching him stare at me with his hands folded in front of his mouth.

"What?" I asked, lowering my fork a bit. I suddenly recognized the look on his face and dropped my eating utensil. The metal clattered against the rim of the plate. "D-do you want to draw me _now?!_ "

Ed looked down at his empty plate, the expression disappearing. "No; there wouldn't be enough..."

I didn't understand what he was talking about; enough _what?_

I sighed. Al suddenly leaned forward from his place across the circular table, speaking to us both in a whisper.

"Hey, guys... Doesn't the person we're looking for have brown hair and a thick coat?"

"Yeah, that would match the description." Ed replied, leaning back a little to follow his brother's stare. His face suddenly grew alarmed. "T-That's him‼"

I looked behind myself, seeing someone at the counter of the shop. Brown hair, a thick coat with a collar raised enough to cover his mouth. Glasses, too. My stare went down, seeing light reflect off the pocket watch he was flashing to the employee.

"HEY!" Ed stood up, pointing to him. "STOP RIGHT THERE!"

The man turned, sunglasses darkening the sight of his eyes. His eyebrows rose in alarm, and quickly he dashed off. Ed ran after him, Alphonse following. I stopped myself from going as well, remembering the bill on the table. I quickly dug into my bag and pulled out enough money. I slapped it on the table, briefly feeling accomplished before my attention went back to the direction Al and Ed ran off in.

I moved the string of beads acting as the door as I walked through. I stopped, looking around. Nobody was stopping to stare at anything, no signs of a fight anywhere.

Then, I heard an explosion. The ground shook for a second, and my only thought was how I hoped neither Ed nor Al was injured.

I quickly bent down, digging my pen out of my bag and drawing a transmutation circle on the ground. One that sent a small part of the sidewalk I stood on upwards, giving me enough height to see the tops of the smallest buildings.

Another explosion went off, not even a block across from me. It didn't hit anything, though, seeming to have ignited in mid-air.

Ed was transmuting parts of the restaurant's flat rooftop, raising it as platforms for him to land on. He skidded back, the force of the explosion pushing him back and blowing the end of his coat out. The platforms extended with him, breaking off as soon as he passed by. He was grinning, of course, and I felt relieved when I didn't see a single scratch on him.

Al's voice caught my focus, and I saw him below us.

"Watch out!" he told Ed. "Make sure the people below are safe before you do that!"

"Like I would do that before checking!" Ed replied, smug. He looked down to Al, telling him to go make sure I was alright.

I blinked, and as if that was all Ed needed, he turned around, seeing me there. I tried to grin as he yelled at me.

"What the heck are you doing here?! Get down—"

A small bomb was suddenly in front of his face. His eyes went wide, and a massive flash of white covered my vision. The small platform below me crumbled, sweeping away every piece of stability. Distantly, I heard the sound of someone clapping once. A roar of electricity came towards me, solid ground meeting my back and stopping the fall. But the impact came much too early for it to be the actual ground.

I heard Ed calling my name. My vision was still flashing white, colors dancing in between and spotting the vision of my surroundings. I was looking up at the sky, and suddenly Ed came into view. Through my own impaired vision, I saw his eyes were shut tight. His hand was on my face, too, gently tapping and feeling the side of it.

"Are you alright?" he asked me.

I moved my head away a little bit, eyes shutting. "Are YOU alright?"

I heard him grit his teeth, a growl slipping out of him. "I asked you first‼ I can't SEE anything so how am I supposed to know?!"

My vision coming back to me, I sat up and looked to Ed again. His eyes were still closed, and judging from the tension on his face, he was in pain.

"Brother?" Al's voice, shouting at us from below.

"Al?" Ed returned. "That you?"

"Y-Yeah!" The younger Elric brother spoke to me next. "Is he alright?"

I looked back to Ed. His hand was still on my face, and I didn't blame him for wanting to get some kind of reference as to where he was. My hand covered his, holding it tightly.

"Hold on, Ed," I told him, "We'll get you down."

Al made a ramp that led up to Ed's platform, allowing us to guide him down to ground level despite his grumbling protests. He kept his hand in mine as we stepped onto the road again, walking over to the sidewalk as Al deconstructed the platforms.

"How're you feeling?" I asked Ed.

The alchemist just scowled. "That was a flash bomb that went off in my face, wasn't it?"

I thought back, feeling a little guilty as I nodded. I should've stopped it, somehow... I shouldn't have even been there in the first place...

I felt Ed's hold on my hand soften a little and looked up to see his eyes were opening. His expression still clenched, in pain, but I could see those golden irises slowly being revealed again. A half-smile hooked his lips.

"Can't draw you if I can't see anything..." he said.

I almost smiled, too concerned to try and go with the mood he was attempting to lighten.

" _Can_ you see anything?" I asked him quietly, watching his eyes open halfway.

"A little bit." he said. "Shadows, mostly. Everything looks dark."

I muted a sigh against the back of my throat. My stare turned away, and again I felt the guilt resurface.

"Sorry." I said. "If I hadn't been there..."

Ed squeezed my hand a little tighter, silencing me. I looked back, seeing his eyes completely open. But they looked unfocused, like they still weren't seeing anything...

Al jogged up to us, and I watched Ed's head perk up before I turned towards the younger Elric myself. I couldn't see Al's face, but I knew it was one of worry.

"Is it any better?" he asked.

I turned to Edward, waiting for his answer.

He grinned again, the same small one as before. "Nothin' I can't handle! I'll be back in no time, Al, just you wait!"

Al wasn't buying the optimism. "So... You still can't see?"

Ed's smile dropped. I felt his hold on my hand tighten. "Um... Well... Not—not really. Not yet, anyway."

I wanted to say something, tell him how it should be coming back any time now. But I wasn't sure; I had no idea. The bomb had been _right_ in front of him...

The tiniest of raindrops landed against my hair. I glanced up, enough to see the grey clouds above us, as Ed looked up as well. But I knew his sight was much different than mine.

I heard a quiet grin stretch his mouth.

"This just isn't my day, is it?"

Before either Al or I could respond, Ed turned, carefully walking along the sidewalk. He pulled me with him, not letting go of my hand as he spoke.

"C'mon, Al. We should get you out of the rain before you rust."

Al nodded quickly. "Uh-right!"

I heard his footsteps behind us, the canopies from the shops we passed by serving as temporary umbrellas. One of these sun visors must have gotten too full with the quickly pouring rain, because as soon as we reached the edge, a massive slush of rain fell, dumping onto Ed. He just sighed, doing nothing to dry himself off.

"Guess we're heading back to the hotel." he said. "Not much we can do in this weather, I guess."

 _Not much we can do without your sight._ I wanted to say.

I looked to him again, now drenched _and_ blind. I reached my other hand out, the one that wasn't holding his, and playfully shuffled my fingers through the front of his hair.

"I wish I knew how to warm you up! You only had to clap your hands to get the water off me!"

Ed grinned a little. "It's not too hard to do! Just converting the water molecules into steam—pretty simple stuff, actually."

"I think there was a fireplace in our room." Al said. "That's always an option."

"Huh? Oh yeah." Ed grinned a bit wider, and I noticed the blush running along his face. "That'd work."

I smiled, almost fascinated with his optimism. He wasn't letting himself get down about what happened...

_Or he's just not showing it._

"There's something we can do for your sight, right?" I asked, trying to match his go-lucky attitude.

When both Ed and Al went quiet, my mood fell once again.

"Maybe." Ed replied softly. "Let's just hope it takes some time for my eyes to heal again, yeah?"

"Yeah." I answered with a nod.

I wasn't sure how vision impairment and flash bombs worked, but I was pretty sure the effects from that close... No; what was I saying? There had to be a way. His sight would be restored, in time.

Ed's hand held mine a little tighter, a softness in the gesture despite it being his metal hand. I smiled even though he couldn't see it. I hoped one day soon, he'd be able to...

"At least my automail's not broken!" Ed exclaimed. "Winry would kill me!"

Al gave something close to a chuckle, I just stared at Ed.

"She gets really angry when you break it?"

Ed nodded. His other hand rose to the back of his head, as if feeling a wound I couldn't see. "You wouldn't believe how many wrenches I've been hit with over the years. She throws them like javelins sometimes; always hits the mark, too, no matter how far away I am!"

I smiled a little bit, ignoring the feeling I got in my gut. He was still trying to keep the mood light, even after all this... I had to admire that strength.

"Sounds like you go there a lot." I told him.

He turned to me, eyebrows raised in surprise. His eyes didn't glance exactly at me, instead staring somewhere off to the side before he shrugged, turning ahead of himself again.

"It's actually been a while. Haven't really been doing much fighting lately."

I wanted to ask what they _had_ been doing, but my attention was taken as I saw we were approaching the hotel. I held Ed's hand a little tighter.

"Let's get you warmed up."

* * *

"It's getting better."

I looked over my shoulder at Edward, momentarily stopping my tending of the fire. I smiled, wondering if his sight really was improving as my focus went back to the fireplace.

"That's good." I said.

"I can see the red of the fire." Ed continued from his place on the couch. "But everything else is still pretty dark."

I nodded. Putting the poker down, I got to my feet again, watching Ed's head turn at the sound of my footsteps as I made my way towards him. I sat down beside him, resisting the urge to hold his hand again. I kept my hands together in my lap, looking down at them as I spoke.

"I'm glad it's getting better." I said. A weak smile played upon my lips. "I was getting so worried."

I heard a grin hook onto Ed's mouth before feeling his arms drape around the back of the couch. Near the edge. He crossed his legs also, one ankle on top of his knee.

"You never have to worry about me. I'm pretty much indestructible!"

A small, irritated groan came from behind us. I looked over my shoulder, seeing Al sitting at the table with narrowed eyes. Ed showed a bit of surprise, grin wavering.

"Oh, hey, Al. Sorry, didn't know you were there. I'm so used to seeing you all the time!"

A joke. He was making _jokes_. I nearly sighed, wondering how long this was going to take, for him to actually show something else. But maybe he couldn't; maybe because Al was here...

 _Do I want to even see it?_ Memories shot back into me, opening a wound that began bleeding in an emotion I hadn't felt in a long time.

Ed called my name. I snapped out of my own thoughts, turning to look into his unfocused eyes.

"You okay?" he asked me.

_How did he KNOW?_

"Y-yeah!" I squeaked. "Perfectly alright. What made you think otherwise?"

He shrugged. "I dunno. I just felt like there was something wrong."

"Other senses improve when another is lost." Al said. "Maybe you're just getting better at..." His words trailed off, the exact phrase for what it was leaving him.

Ed caught on, nodding a little bit. "Yeah, maybe." His expression grew worried. "I'd still really like to see normally, if I could..."

I held my hands a little tighter, my own worry consuming me. If only I hadn't distracted him...

"Hey, Al." Interested perked Ed's expression. "We paid for that breakfast, right?"

"Uh..." Al began nervously, his eyes shrinking. "Well..."

"I covered it." I told them. "It's alright."

Ed groaned between his clenched teeth, hand automatically finding the wallet in his coat pocket. With clumsy motions, he dug through it, fingers slipping every now and then. Despite my protests, he held more than enough money out. I wasn't about to take it.

"You told me whoever gets the bill first!" I said. "Your words!"

He blinked, and then seemingly out of habit his stare dropped towards the money in his hand. A sheepish grin came to him.

"Shot myself in the foot on that one." he muttered, putting the money back and pocketing the wallet again. "I'll cover it next time."

I huffed an agreement, silently hoping that he'd be able to see by then.

We all sat in silence for a few moments before I noticed Ed's face. His eyes were still open, a growing irritation rising between his brows. His hands clenched, and a moment later he was shouting, squirming a little beside me.

"WHY WON'T MY SIGHT COME BACK?! WE CAN'T SIT AROUND LIKE THIS! THAT GUY WAS RIGHT IN FRONT OF US!"

I kept my hand by my mouth, somewhat scared at the outburst but mostly trying to think of what to say. Al and I couldn't go after him on our own, probably because Ed wouldn't let us. And we also couldn't risk anyone getting even more hurt...

"We did get our suspect, though." Al said. "Now it's just a matter of time before we catch him."

"Yeah but he could be cities away by the time we do that." One foot landed against the coffee table, the other one crossing on top of it. "Especially at this pace..."

When neither of us answered, Ed sighed. His voice was soft as he spoke again.

"Sorry, Al... I'm slowing us down again..."

I looked to his younger brother, watching his head lower to the floor.

"It's alright." Al's voice was just as quiet, even with the suit's echoing.

 _Slowing down what?_ I wanted to ask. But I felt as if it was something that didn't concern me. Or perhaps it was just this case... Yeah that was probably it.

The longer I sat on the couch in this silence, the more I started to think. But my mind just kept going back to the memory of seeing Ed with the flash bomb in front of his face. Seeing his face in pain as he tried to find out if _I_ was alright... I forced myself away from the thoughts.

"Do you two want any tea?" I asked, standing up.

Ed's eyebrow lifted in my direction, his hand remaining across his stomach.

"Yeah, sure." His voice sounded dull and the sound of it moved the smile away from my lips.

I forced myself away from sulking, smiling again as I turned to Al.

"Al? What about you?"

The younger Elric looked up. He hesitated for a moment before nodding. I noticed Ed turn in his direction, surprised, as I went towards the kitchen, still trying to keep the mood light.

"Two teas, coming right up!"

I kept my thoughts to myself while I boiled the kettle of water, still trying to figure out a cure for Ed's blindness. But his sight _did_ seem to be coming back; outside, he couldn't see very much, and now he could see the light of the fire. So that counted for something... Didn't it?

I could only hope I was right…


	6. Red Light

I woke up to the sound of Al gasping.

"Brother!"

There was a glimpse of red light; transmutation-like. Then it faded.

Ed's voice came through the darkness. "What? What is it, Al?"

I stood up, padding to the living room light lamp and flicking it on. "What's going on?"

I looked around the lit room, seeing nothing besides Ed sitting up on the couch. I couldn't see much of his face, only that his eyes were wide and Al was staring at him from his seat against the wall.

"I..." Ed blinked. "I can..." A grin overtook his face and he threw his arms up, falling back onto the couch. "I CAN SEE AGAIN!"

An immense amount of happiness came to me, and I felt tears rise to the edge of my eyes. He could actually see...? I held the edge of the doorframe, watching him put his hands in his hair, laughing from the sheer relief of it all. Al was laughing a little too, and I'm sure if I could see his face, he'd be crying like I was.

Ed breathed out as he sat up, that grin never leaving him. He said my name as he turned to me.

"Let's go celebrate!"

I looked at him, surprised. "What should we do?" I asked. "It's the middle of the night."

"I don't know, let's just do something!" He even threw his arms out to the side like a little kid when he said that. He sighed again, looking at my face. "I gotta say"—he turned, meeting Al's smiling gaze—"It's really great to see you guys again."

Bashfully, his hand went to the back of his head as he grinned at me. "I was getting pretty worried there for a sec'."

"Yeah..." I agreed, suddenly solemn as I leaned against the doorframe. "I was, too." I thought back, wondering what that light was. My stare shifted to Al, thinking if he saw it, too.

"Al..." I began, watching his head turn towards me. "Did you see that light?"

"Yeah," Al nodded, "I did."

Ed blinked at us. "What light? What're you talking about?"

"There was a red light," Al said, "Before you woke up. Like a transmutation."

"Transmutation?" Ed repeated. "That doesn't make any sense... How could I have transmuted..." His expression twisted in confusion. "Transmuted my eyesight back?!"

"What..." His hands were on his hair again as he looked around himself in quick shifts. "How... That doesn't..."  
He sighed, sitting back down again. "I have no clue about any of that. And you said the light was red?"

Al nodded. "Yeah."

"Huh."

Ed got up, rolling off the couch and to his feet in one smooth motion. He popped the front of his coat out, looking at me from over his shoulder.

"So are we celebrating or what?" he asked.

I smiled, feeling a little bit of heat touch my face. "Give me a few minutes to get ready, okay?"

He nodded, one hand in his pocket. He was standing taller now, no longer the beaten defeated posture he'd had before. That strength was back, more than ever. I turned away, heading into my room again with a smile.

* * *

"Here you are, miss."

"Thank you..." I took the glass of champagne, watching as she set down the tray with more glasses and the bottle.

After asking if we needed anything else with our food, the waitress left. I watched her go, feeling a little guilty keeping the restaurant open like this. We came by just as the doors were closing, but one flash of Ed's wallet and they opened again.

I looked down at the champagne in my glass, my mind on the State Alchemist sitting across from me.

"It isn't much of a celebration if you can't drink this..." I told him.

"Hey, give it a few more months." He grinned at me. A sly expression came to him, his stare off to one side. "Of course, it really wouldn't be that fun if we didn't break some rules."

He took one of the glasses that had been placed upside down and turned it right side up. With that same massive grin still on his face, he poured his own drink. From his place beside me, Al just gave a sigh. I looked away from him to see Ed's glass held out to me.

"Cheers." he said. "To a bright future."

I tapped my glass against his, matching his enthusiasm. "Cheers!"

We laughed, and I heard Al join in a little bit too. I was debating on offering him some, considering he was nearly 17 and his older brother was already drinking illegally... But before I could, Alphonse spoke.

"Brother..."

Ed tilted the glass away from his lips, looking to Al. He waited, watching his brother look away.

"Don't you think it's strange?" Al continued. "If there was a transmutation... Then there isn't any sign of equivalent exchange..."

Ed grew solemn, considering what his brother had said. He set his glass back on the table, fist resting against the side of his face.

"I'm not sure, Al..." he answered. "You both say you saw that light, and I don't doubt your experiences..." His brows knotted together, and I sensed the frustration behind them. "I just don't know. Maybe something else caused that light. A transmutation doesn't make any sense."

He looked down, further away from me. "Especially not one without equivalent exchange."

There was something going between them, Ed and Al. Some idea floating around. Al lifted his head, speaking quietly.

"Do you think...?"

"It still doesn't make any sense!" Ed's voice rose, causing a few stares to move our way.

"Maybe..." Al's eyes went wide, his focus going in front of him. "Maybe it's something to do with The Truth..."

Ed raised one eyebrow, again listening as Al continued, stare turning to him. "You can make transmutations without a circle, so why can't your body also know what to do to heal severe injuries?"

"That's kind of a leap." Ed commented, raising the glass to his mouth as if he was prepared to take another sip. "I don't remember seeing anything about that, and besides, why would it only work _now?_ "

Al thought hard.

"There... Was something..." he began. "I know there was something about medical alchemy..."

"You mean when you saw it?"

Al nodded. I shook my head, trying to get rid the headache that was now throbbing.

"Can somebody fill me in, please?"

Ed looked to me, surprise catching his expression before he grinned an apology. "It's a long story, I guess." he told me. "It's really nothing to concern yourself with. Probably just a bunch of dead ends, anyway."

Something of an irritated growl came from Alphonse, causing Ed to look back. They exchanged looks, but when Ed turned back, the glare on his face disappeared. He tipped his glass back, swallowing the last bit of champagne.

"Ah, wow, this stuff is good!" he said. "Now I see why it's so dang expensive!"

As he laughed at his own joke, my mind was elsewhere, still trying to figure out how his sight was restored. Al had a good point; something like that happening was really strange, _especially_ when it happened without taking anything in return...

I looked back to Ed, voicing the idea as it began to form in my brain.

"You were sleeping, weren't you?" I asked. "Before it happened?"

Ed nodded, taking another sip of champagne from his second glass.

"What were you dreaming about?"

He nearly choked, leaning forward and suppressing a gag. His face was bright red.

"W-why's that matter?" he asked, avoiding my stare. "I was just sleeping. Completely normal dream! Nothing special about it!" He glanced to me, and for some reason that seemed to set him into even more of a frenzy. "Nobody HERE was in it, that's for sure!"

I blinked. "Um. Okay."

Al was smiling, his eyes perfectly curved in pure amusement. I looked between them again, and my idea suddenly fell away. Maybe there was a connection between thoughts and... Whatever that was. Apparently not.

Ed downed the last of his drink and returned his glass to the table. He blinked a little bit, shaking his head to probably rid the buzz that had set in. "Whatever it was, I think we should just accept it and move on. No use going around in circles now, especially when we got so much on our plate."

"That's right." Al said. "Now that you have your sight back, we can catch that imposter."

"Granted he's not in another continent by now." Ed added with a sigh. "We were so close, too..."

"At least we know what he looks like now!" I said, smiling as best as I could.

Ed's golden stare glanced to me. His posture straightened, mood picking up slightly.

"Yeah, I guess so... Just wish he..." His words suddenly faded. His eyes widened, an expression twisting on his face. An alarm settled in, enough to raise his hair up as he grabbed it.

"PEANUTS!" he said. "THAT'S WHY HE NEEDED THE PEANUTS!"

I jumped a little bit as both of Ed's fists slammed against the table. He was yelling now, but I knew he wasn't yelling directly at me.

"I should've seen it before! Bombs! Nitroglycerin is in PEANUTS!"

I heard Al gasp and my mind clicked together what he was saying.

"This idiot is making a BOMB!" Ed dashed out of his seat before suddenly stumbling to a stop, wallet flashing out.

He spun around and slammed more than enough money on the table, shooting me a mischievous grin. I sighed.

"Is this really a good time—"

"Right!" Ed was out the door leading to the inside of the second floor. "No time! We gotta go!"

I stood up as well, wanting to follow him out before noticing that Al hadn't moved. He continued to sit at his place beside me, his eyes becoming slits as he sighed.

"I wonder how long it'll take for him to realize the trains don't run this late at night."

Hearing footsteps below us, I looked over the balcony, watching Ed run out of the restaurant and down the sidewalk.

"C'mon!" he yelled back at us. "What're you guys doing?! Just hurry up‼"

When neither of us responded, he finally turned around, almost bumping into someone as he skidded back on one foot. His angry expression suddenly fled upon seeing my disheartened one. I watched something of an idea dawn onto his face. He flipped his pocket watch open. His jaw dropped, and his hands rose to his hair as he stomped around.

_"Damn it‼"_

I heard Al giggle behind me.

"It's a good thing you're here!" he told me. "He might've been all the way to the station before he realized the time."

I smiled a little. But that still didn't change the situation we were in. How were we going to stop this?

I kept myself in thought as I moved passed the table, trying to ignore the stack of money next to the bottle of champagne. I heard Al walk behind me as we made our way through the double doors, seeing a few people stop eating from the corner of my eye. I looked up, noticing their stare was on the person behind me.

I smiled, turning to look at Al from behind my shoulder.

"You probably get these a lot, don't you?"

His eyes curved in another smile, a tiny laugh coming to him. "A bit..."

I expected him to expand on that statement, but he remained quiet until we were back downstairs and walking through the entrance again. Ed was waiting for us close by, glowering to himself.

I wanted to get that expression off his face; it just reminded me of when he was blind...

Stepping forward, I spoke, catching his attention.

"So what do we do?"

Ed sighed, hand stretching one eyelid downward. "I don't even know." he replied. "Who the hell knows where this guy is, and I doubt contacting a specific branch about _some guy in a thick jacket with brown hair and sunglasses_ is really going to help."

I looked down, trying to think of something. But he was right... What do we do?

A loud, ground-shaking explosion answered me.


	7. Red Light

**A/N:** For reference's sake, Ed's around 5'3"-5'4" in this story

* * *

I was running with them, but I still felt like every cell in my body was trying to pull me _back_ in the opposite direction. Nobody was saying anything about me still being here—I wasn't even sure if I should hang back or not. But Ed's sight would probably be restored, even if he was blinded again...

I stopped running just as we approached our destination. _Dammit!_

I looked up, seeing the flames roaring above us. The building had been blown up... A church, of all things...

A silhouette caught my focus; a shadowed figure beside the burning rooftop, someone quickly jumping away!

Ed was bounding off after them, shouting back at us to take care of the fire. We nodded our agreement before I heard the sound of clapping behind me.

I turned around, looking to see a giant water hose—something that kind of looked like a cannon—beside the street's fire extinguisher. Al stood up, aiming the water as it shot out.

The fire began to sizzle in response, the sound background noise as Al spoke to me.

"I'm going to go see if there's anyone stuck inside! Can you take care of the fire?"

I nodded, switching places with him as he ran off and disappeared inside the building, ignoring the shouts the crowd gave for him to stop.

I grabbed the handles Al was using to aim this massive thing, immediately feeling the weight hoist me up. My legs kicked in the air, and I felt someone help pull me down.

"Thank you." I smiled nervously, watching the man just nod.

"I can take care of this!" he told me.

Feeling absolutely useless, I let go of the handles and stepped to the side, watching this stranger take over the only job I was assigned. People cheered as the flames started to weaken, overpowered by the massive amount of water.

Another bomb went off, not even a block away. My heart dropped; that's the same direction Ed ran off to!

I didn't even think as I started running towards the cloud of smoke visible from one of the windows... Nothing seemed to be blown out; no windows or doors.

Again, my thoughts went to the instincts trying to force me back. Just wait, it was telling me. Just don't get in the way...

_Another_ bomb went off, and this time I felt the shocks ripple the ground below my feet. I stumbled, not falling. The earth settled back to normal, and I burst through the already open door.

An empty living room greeted me. But I heard the sounds of a rough scuffle downstairs; like someone was being dragged along a table, knocking off glass and breaking it on the floor.

I soon found the stairs to the basement, and by then Ed's voice came to my ears. Talking to whoever he was fighting. He didn't sound hurt; in fact, he sounded completely cocky.

"What're you gonna do now?" he taunted. "I can escape your stupid little bombs all night, pal. No sweat."

Oh, no... Please don't provoke him, Ed...

The stairs ended, bringing me down to a dimly lit basement. A slick voice rang out as I stopped running, the last of my steps echoing against the concrete.

"Well, it seems we have another visitor."

I saw the shorter of the two figures turn towards me, a familiar voice saying my name.

Ed suddenly leaned back, dodging a bomb as it was thrown at him. I hid my eyes with the inside of my jacket, seeing Ed turn away as a blinding white light came.

"Oh, no." Ed's voice again, the grin clear. "No way in hell I'm falling for that one again."

Before my own sight had even adjusted back, Ed was in front of the bomber, jumping high and spinning. The back of his heel connected with the bomber's head, earning a groan and a harsh stumble.

"Damn midget..."

"WHO YOU CALLIN'—"

Al's footsteps came thundering down the stairs behind me. "Brother!"

I stepped off to the side, watching the teen in the armor stop at the base of the stairs.

The bomber was on his knees, one of Ed's hands clutching his hair while his metal hand was transmuted into what looked like a giant fist.

Ed blinked. "Oh, hey, Al."

The bomber took the opportunity to break Ed's grip with a quick strike against his forearm. They broke apart, jumping a good distance away from each other. Ed clapped his hands, bringing his human one against the back of his transmuted fist. The length of his arm returned, the material finding its original place. He clenched his hand a few times, grin returning. He opened his mouth to say something, but quickly the smile fell from his face. The bomber's voice rang out again.

"And now four makes a party!" Bombs were suddenly in his hands, lit with the fuse disappearing fast. "Can I interest anyone in some candles?"

Ed and Al clapped, putting their hands to the floor. The ceiling above us split down the middle, curving upwards and creating a wide open space. Al's transmutation light sped along the ground, a block shooting out from the floor and knocking the bombs high into the air.

They exploded, the burst of wind whipping against us, the flames bright enough for our eyes to be shielded again.

When everything cleared, the street lamps above were bright enough to shine down, illuminating the basement. I stared at Ed, seeing the left leg of his pants had been torn away. His leg... It was completely metal...

He wore a frown, continuing to stare at the bomber.

"Y'know, I really hate it when people try and blow up friends and family. Kinda puts a downer on everything."

"I had a feeling it was you!" the bomber laughed, pointing at Ed. "I didn't think I could _really_ be fighting the famed Fullmetal Alchemist—but here you are! Golden features and all!" He laughed again, and the sound was horribly insane. "Tell me, Fullmetal, how is it that you two can perform alchemy without needing circles?! Is it as simple as making one with your hands?"

Ed grinned, the expression mischievous. "Nah. The truth is a lot more complex than that, bud."

His leg slid back into a low fighting stance, automail catching the street light again. His hands rose, the metal one extended in front of him while his human hand rested in defense by his jaw. "C'mon. Let's finish this."

The man just smiled, barring his teeth as he raised one arm out. For a moment, it looked as if his nails were growing, but with the amount of blood coming out of his fingers, I knew I was wrong.

"He's..." I could hardly speak through my own shock. "He's transmuting his BONES?!"

The man swiped his hand across himself, the long bones that were once his fingers acting like massive claws.

Ed just gave a cocky grin, suddenly standing normal with his hand on his hip. "Yeah," he scoffed, "Not gonna size up to my past fights, trust me."

The bomber gave another huge grin. "You really want to talk about 'sizing up'?"

"THAT'S IT!" Ed was charging forward, transmuting a blade onto his metal arm. "THAT'S THE LAST JOKE YOU'RE GONNA MAKE!"

The bomber just grinned, running forward as well. His hand swiped out and Ed jumped, the end of his coat getting ripped up by the makeshift claws. He stepped on the guy's face, and I heard the crack of a nose breaking.

The bomber fell onto his back as Ed landed in front of him. The alchemist turned around, one hand in his pocket as he looked down.

"I thought that was almost gonna be hard for a second."

A grin hooked onto the bomber's mouth. He suddenly flipped onto his feet, acrobatically landing a good distance away from Ed. Without moving his hands, the criminal set his nose back into place. Transmuted the bones into the right areas again.

I felt the hair on my head stand straight up as Ed's face dropped into an expression of disgust.

_"Ew!_ " he drawled, closing his eyes. "Stop doing that!"

"No way." The claws rose in front of him again, the blood still on his bones flinging off and landing on the floor. "I've worked way too hard to get this transmutation right. Seals up my skin just enough so I won't lose any blood."

"It'll still wreck your body..." Ed began, but the bomber just grinned.

"Like you have the right to say that, _Fullmetal_?"

"Shut your mouth!" Ed was charging forward again, incredibly ticked.

When Ed got close enough, something narrow and thin sped out of the bomber's torso. A rib. I saw his upper body drop a bit to the left, compensating for the bone length he was using. Ed blocked the makeshift spear to his stomach, using the blade on his arm as a shield.

The rib shot back just as quickly as it had come. Ed slashed, but the attack was dodged with a quick bend backwards. The bomber's palms came into view, and I saw the complex series of alchemy circles tattooed into his skin. My stomach squeezed itself; the circles were enough to continually transmute his bones...

The front of the bomber's shoes were ripped open, toes attempting to stab Ed. It was meant to be a quick attack; something fierce as the bomber transferred his weight onto his hands in a backbend, supporting himself as the bones in his leg got shorter.

Ed put his arm and knee up, again using the metal to deflect the long toes.

"You wanna give me a hand here, Al?"

"Right!"

Al clapped his hands, transmuting part of the ground into a reaching hand. The bomber flipped away from the structure, jumping onto and away from the wall as he landed against it.

As he landed onto the floor again, Al and Ed stared in disbelief.

"What is this guy, in the circus?" Ed asked.

In the next moment, claws made of bone were slashing at Al. The teen in the suit stepped back, hands up and blocking but not attacking. It was only a moment after he had circled around, allowing me to see the back of the bomber and the front of Al, that the bomber's other hand had transformed into claws as well. He slashed twice; a fake to Al's legs and a direct hit against his head.

Al's helmet flew off, and I felt something of a relief that he was wearing one. That could've been really bad…

The helmet bounced to the floor, but didn't reveal the head of the younger Elric. I waited, expecting Al's head to pop out, maybe have his hands holding onto the edge. Just some kid inside a giant suit of armor. But nothing came out, and I suppressed making any sound as the suit leaned forward, pointing to the inside of his body.

A blood red insignia. I recognized the rune instantly, but still my brain couldn't register the significance... There was no way...

"You'll have to try harder than _that_." Al's voice rang out, filling the empty suit.

My stomach lurched, my perception of the younger Elric completely being re-written. He'd been empty. He'd been empty this whole time…

Now at a safe distance away from Al, who was twisting his head back on, the bomber was yelling.

"You fools actually tried to do it! I can't believe there's people out there SO STUPID!" Laughter rang out from him—true, genuine amusement. "It's taboo for a reason! How evolved we've become! How very—"

Ed's foot slammed against his face, cutting off his speech. The Elric didn't stop there; he landed low on the ground, pivoting and ramming the side of his leg against the bomber's knee. The limb broke at the brute force of the metal, and I grew nauseous for the second time as I saw the upper half of his leg shift away from his lower. Ed stood up, grabbing the guy's head as he yelled.

"I'm really not feeling like a lecture today, _pal!_ " His metal knee punctuated his words, slamming hard against the side of the villain's head.

"Brother!" A concerned warning from Al.

As the bomber skidded against the ground face-first, Ed looked in the direction of his brother.

The older Elric waved a hand. "Ah, he's fine. He's transmuting his bones after all. Probably lessened the impact of my leg."

I looked back to the villain. He still wasn't moving. At this point, I saw fear in Edward's face. Alphonse ran up to the body, about to crouch down when Edward's mind came back to him. The realization triggered for me as well.

Ed reached forward, as if that could stop his brother's movements.

"AL, NO!"

"Al, don't do it!"

The sharp bone of a finger pierced through the front plate of Al's suit. I stopped breathing, hand half-raised in a pathetic attempt to reach him.

"Al..." Ed fell to his knees, hitting the ground hard. I've never seen his eyes that helpless. That empty.

The figure on the floor moved its head, picking himself up a little bit. I could _feel_ the grin on his face; a ghost imprint against my sick stomach.

Al was gone. And I couldn't even take a step to save him.

The familiar shifting of metal sounded. I looked up, breath leaving my lungs for the second time. With a grin coming to my face, I watched Al move his arm, hand gripping the bone still impaling him.

"I can't believe you _missed!_ " Al's voice, ringing clear out of his suit. "How could you _miss_ when I'm this close to you?!"

Before a response could be heard, Al tilted his hand upwards, snapping the bone in two.

The alchemist on the floor screamed, and my mind quickly came back to me. I tapped the back of my heel onto the floor, sliding open the compartment beneath my shoe. I pressed the transmutation circled engraved there to the floor, watching the carbon in the concrete below the bomber give way. A hole was formed, some of it moving over to bury the alchemist, covering everything except for his eyes and lips. I gave him enough room to breathe, but he wouldn't be able to pierce through such thick flooring.

"Hey, nice work!" Ed complimented me, sending a grin my way as he walked over to the bomber.

I smiled back, a little embarrassed. It'd been a long time since I'd used alchemy, especially in a way that was used for offense. I was surprised I could still conduct something like that…

Ed crouched down, hands hanging from his knees as he looked at the bomber. He stared from the corner of his eyes, mouth in a frown.

"Alright, let's get this over with. What's up with impersonating a dog of the military? Why'd you bomb that church?"

A single, barking laugh answered him. "Like I would tell YOU!" The man spit upwards, trying to hit Ed but missing. Still, Ed leaned away with a slight grimace.

"Well, you better start talkin'." Ed replied. "You really wanna be cooped up in there until the cops come?"

"Ha!"

Ed frowned and kept trying to get more info. "Is there anyone else working with you?"

"Now THERE'S a real laugh!" The bomber cackled madly, wiggling around in the limited room I had given him. "Do you really think I'm the type to work with someone? If I was, there would definitely be more of those churches on fire around the world!"

"Gosh, you're insane..." Al muttered.

Wide eyes went in the direction of the younger Elric. "Oh, don't act like you don't understand! You're an alchemist, after all! In fact, everyone in this ROOM is one! We're free-thinkers, followers of science and common sense! Tell me; honestly, truthfully tell me that you've never thought of destroying one of those blasted God-spewing CORPORATIONS!"

We were all stunned into silence. Al was right, but personally I didn't think that "insane" really covered it right now. Ed was the first to recover, tsking as he turned away.

"Yeah, believe me, I've heard that all before. But just because you believe someone else is wrong doesn't mean you should try to blow them up!"

"Try?! I did much more than _try_ , Fullmetal Alchemist!"

Ed slammed his hand against the ground, near the bomber's face. "ALRIGHT, that's enough! I'm tired of this! Tell me what I need to know!"

A wide grin filled the space I had left for the bomber's mouth.

"No..."

The smile fled as Ed pressed the tip of his automail blade in between the bomber's eyes.

"You've heard about me, _right?_ " There was an edge to Edward's voice; a lowness I didn't recognize.

The bomber tried to wiggle around, keeping his eyes frantically wide. "Y-yes! I've heard you've slain many many people!"

I saw Alphonse give a sound of disbelief; embarrassment almost. I realized this guy must have his information wrong. Ed kept his cut throat attitude, giving one nod with that horrible look in his eyes.

"That's right." The blade pressed a bit more, and I saw a drop of blood form, slipping down into the corner of the bomber's eye. A whimper came as he closed his eyes, preventing the blood from getting inside. "You wanna be my next victim?"

I heard a slight whimper come from Al, who had his hands in front of him, toying with his fingers a little bit. The bomber just kept breathing in that same fast way, and his eyes suddenly shot open.

"OKAY! OKAY, I'LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING!"

"Lautoxan police!"

I looked up, seeing shadows surrounding the upper floor above us. Guns were drawn. That characteristically big grin came to Ed as he stood up and stepped away.

"What's with that look?" he asked me, clapping his hands and putting one of them on his blade, reverting his metal hand back to normal... But there was something off about the transmutation. "You really didn't think I was gonna kill the guy, did you?"

I didn't answer; had I actually seen that right? The transmutation light looked... A little red.

"Ed..." I began as the police came thundering down the staircase behind me. I stepped off to the side with a quick glance, moving out of their way.

They started towards the bomber, who was still in the ground.

"Oh, sorry." I activated the transmutation circle on the bottom of my shoe, releasing the ground on top of the criminal. The police captured the guy instantly, roughly hoisting him up by the arms.

"Hey watch it!"

He was carried off, and I watched one police officer step towards Edward, asking him something. The State Alchemist shook his head, hand retrieving his silver watch as he explained the situation. The officer accepted the story pretty easily, and after a few brief questions to me and Alphonse, he left. The three of us were alone.

"Al!" Ed had his hands in the air, arms swinging angrily. "What'd you do that for? Waiting so long to grab the bone? WE THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!"

Al's eyes retracted, growing smaller. "I was surprised by it too! I didn't think he could have possibly missed like that, honest!"

Ed sighed, bowing from the force of his relief. He straightened, stretching out his lower back. "Well, whatever. It's nice to have you alive still."

I heard Alphonse call my name. I looked over, seeing him bow a little towards me.

"We're sorry we didn't tell you." he began, that small voice ringing out from his empty suit. "We thought it would be best, to hide the consequences of what we'd done."

I looked away, thinking back. Memories came, and I allowed them to speak for me. "I found out about Ed's arm when we were on the train to Central," My eyes glanced up, seeing his light surprise before watching him nod a bit to himself, understanding, "And... When I found out about..." I wanted to continue; Trisha's face was just too painful to remember now. I wanted to tell them how much it hurt, seeing them like this. Like they were now.

Tears escaped my eyes and I roughly wiped them away on my palms, forcing myself to continue. "I had no idea you had lost so much. A full body, and half of another one." My fingers threaded into my hair, and through another wave of tears, I finally looked at them both. "How is that equivalent?"

Ed shifted his weight, the soft click of his leg ringing into the silence. He kept his stare down, kept his hands in his pockets, and finally began to speak.

"I sacrificed my leg in the process of the transmutation." he began. "And I gave my arm to get Al into that suit of armor." With closed eyes, he shook his head. "I don't know if you'd still call that equivalent, but maybe it's just our punishment for trying to play God."

He looked up, stare meeting mine. "Either way, this is our burden to bear. We've chosen this path, and we can't turn back from it."

There was something underneath those words. I wanted to ask...

"If you ever go back to Resembool," he began, raising his hand to the back of his hair, "You'll see the remains of our house. We burned it down a long while back. A symbol of our resolve to never look into the past again."

Memories came to me like rainfall. They'd burned down their house? Everything?!

I knew I really couldn't be angry... If I had that courage... I'd burn down mine, too... But I couldn't. I wouldn't be able to. I was miles away from that place, and even now it was still trapping me.

_I'm such a coward..._

Ed called my name and I looked up. He was staring at me, a softness in his dirtied face.

"We're sorry." he said, repeating his brother's words. "I don't think we can say that enough, with all the ways we've hid you in the dark like this."

"I know why you did it." I responded. "I know why..." _I just wish you hadn't._

He suppressed a sigh, his shoulders lowering a little bit more. His weight shifted, balancing equally again as he looked up. I followed his stare, seeing the night sky; the aftereffects of the bomb being forced into the air and blowing up most of the house. The street lights were casting a yellow glow onto everything. My mind went back to Alphonse, and I found everything began to make sense. All that strange behavior from before...

Ed looked ahead of himself again, towards me, and I saw that soft smile on his face.

"Don't look so worried." he told me, eyes nearly laughing in happiness. "It's alright. We've been livin' like this for a while now; it's second nature sometimes."

I realized my knuckles had come to rest against my mouth, but I didn't move them away. I _kept_ worrying, even though that happiness on his face was constantly telling me not to.

Eventually, Ed's mouth dropped into a pointy frown. Then he relaxed, sighing.

He shrugged one shoulder; his metal one. "I don't know what to say," he told me, "I wish I could tell you we have a way to get our bodies back... Some—" He laughed, the sound brief and harsh, "— _goal_ we've been searching for. But right now, we really don't."

"What're you talking about?" I asked softly.

Ed seemed to be thinking, but then he shook his head. "It'd take too long to explain." he replied. A soft, nearly ironic smile hooked his mouth. "Just another recap of more failures from yours truly."

Al didn't seem to mind him not telling me, even though they had just been apologizing for keeping me in the dark... I didn't press, though... I didn't want to, if it was something bad enough to keep them so quiet.

Ed walked forward, still standing tall as he started passed me.

"Well, guess there's nothing left to do but head to Central in the morning and file a report..."

"Hey."

We looked up, seeing an office peer down from the first floor. He kept talking.

"If you're lookin' to head to Central, there's an express train runnin' every quarter hour. Fairly new system they're tryin' out; just got opened a few days ago!"

"That's perfect!" Al exclaimed. "Thank you!"

The officer nodded. "You mind fixin' up this floor in exchange?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure." Ed bent down, clapping his hands again and putting them to the floor. He looked up, grinning to the officer as the ceiling began to seal again. "Sorry 'bout that!"

The officer just waved, the sight of his hand soon shut out by the basement's ceiling. When the ceiling was connected, that dim light came on, barely illuminating the basement once again. I watched Ed's figure rise up from the ground, hearing the click of his leg as he stood.

He suddenly turned, and I heard the grin come to his face, seeing it a little even with the low lighting.

"We should probably fix up that hole in you, Al."

"Huh?" I heard Al look down at his chest. "Oh, yeah. That'd probably be a good idea!"

Ed laughed a bit, walking over to his brother and stopping in front of him. He clapped his hands. "Here."

His transmutation light was red, the lightning cracking and skittering around the hole in Al's body. Quickly, it faded to the standard light blue, but it was definitely enough to make us all lose our breath.

Ed took his hands away, looking at them. "What the heck just happened?" He looked at his brother. "Al, are you alright?!"

Al nodded, just as worried. "Y-yeah! Are you okay, though?"

I watched Ed clench his hands over and over again, like he was testing out the muscles in his fingers.

"Yeah..." he said. "I feel just fine..."

He grinned at me, embarrassed. "I guess you two weren't kidding when you were talking about that transmutation light being red earlier!"

Al sighed, his body hunching forward. "That's _really_ weird..."

"No kidding." Ed replied, his voice still a bit distant. He raised one hand to his mouth, thought coming into the space between his brows, the creases in his skin visible even in the low lighting. "I wonder..."

He bent down, clapping his hands and putting them on the ground. Blue transmutation light illuminated the room, and through squinted vision I watched his hand rise up, crafting a spear out of the ground. Throughout the entire transmutation, the light remained perfectly normal.

"What the heck?" Ed whined, holding the spear in both hands. "Why didn't it turn red again?!"

We all stared at the spear for a moment, like that would somehow tell us the answer to Ed's question. It didn't, and Al filled the silence with the creaking of his helmet as his head shook.

"I guess whatever it was is gone now..." he began. His stare went down, noticing how half of Ed's left pant leg was gone.

"We should get you fixed up, too, Brother."

It was Ed's turn to look down at himself. "Oh, yeah. Guess I can't really go out walking around like this, can I? Not even if it's this late out."

I could practically feel the grin silently laughing at his own joke as he shifted the spear and rested it against the inside of his arm. He clapped his hands, placing them on the weapon and allowing it to deconstruct back into the floor.

"And now to get me looking normal again..."

He bent down, clapping his hands again and placing them on the floor, bringing more light into the room's only bulb. This brightened our surroundings enough for him and Al to start picking up the torn pieces of Ed's clothing. Most of them had been ripped away in large chunks due to the early explosions before I got there, so it didn't take very long.

I wanted to move and help them. But I only stayed standing by the doorway, only thinking of how much they had lost...

With his clothes fully repaired, Ed was walking towards me again. I looked to him as he passed by, the light from the stairway bright enough for me to catch the glimpse of a smile before he left my line of vision. His hand rose, fingers softly tugging on the shoulder of my jacket before falling away. His words came again, the memory of what he had said just a few minutes ago playing once more.

_"Don't look so worried."_


	8. Ice Cream

To say today had been a long day would definitely be an understatement. The train ride back to Central was short—or at least it felt fairly short. I woke up to the tilted sight of Al smiling at me, hand gently nudging my knee from his seat across from mine. Ed was looking over his shoulder, suitcase in hand as he stood in the aisle, smiling as well.

Definitely long, but I was glad it was almost over.

The Brigadier's office was as big as I expected it to be, but I really didn't think for it to have couches. I was thankful though, trying hard not to fall asleep as I sat down. Al quietly took the armchair as Ed flopped down beside me, arms fanning out to rest along the back.

"Alright," he was saying, "Let's get this stupid lecture over with, Mustang."

I focused, turning to see Mustang raise an eyebrow from his place at his desk. "I'm not scolding you, Fullmetal. You're old enough to know what you did wrong." He moved a paper from the top of a pile, sliding it in front of himself with two fingers. "Which, in this case, wasn't a lot of things."

Ed shot him an irritated look. Mustang just smirked, continuing to speak.

"So tell me about this case." he said. "After you all left for Lautoxan, what happened?"

"Well, we started going door-to-door," Ed began, looking to the ceiling, "Seeing if anyone remembered a State Alchemist being there."

Mustang nodded, like he agreed with the action.

"We got a little bit of a lead from that; someone told us what the guy looked like and what he took from their house."

Mustang's thin eyebrows rose. "What he took?" he repeated.

Ed nodded, allowing Al to fill in his reply.

"He was going to every house he could and getting different items from them."

"Using the watch as leverage." Mustang mused. "Okay, go on."

"And then..." Ed suddenly stopped talking, and he looked down, a slight blush coming to him as he scratched the side of his nose. "Uh..."

I realized what he was thinking of; the drawing he did when we stayed at the hotel. I grinned through my own embarrassment, seeing Mustang's gaze lift to me, welcoming an addition.

"And then the next morning, when we were eating breakfast, we saw him."

"The imposter?" Mustang asked.

I nodded, seeing Ed recover and continue on. He leaned forward, arms hanging past his knees.

"And when he ran off, Al and I chased after the bastard." A hand passed along his mouth, an irritation coming to him. "Figured out he was using bombs, too."

My lips shut a little tighter, noticing he was going to skip over the restoration of his sight completely. I only nodded a little bit, hearing him turn to Mustang and keep talking.

"But by the time we had really pieced everything together, he'd already struck an attack on a church."

My hands curled, grabbing handfuls of my skirt. I was glad nobody got hurt, but just seeing that building up in flames like that...

"Nobody was injured," Al chimed in, "But our imposter fled the scene soon after we got there."

"You trailed him, right?" Mustang asked.

"Obviously." Ed replied, kicking his weight back against the couch. "We got some information out of the bastard and the rest is up to the authorities he was handed to."

Mustang nodded. "Was he working with anyone?" he asked. "Any signs of an accomplice?"

Ed shook his head. "No. Basically spat in my face like he was insulted I'd even ask."

Al suddenly turned to me, remembering something.

"Your sketchbook." he said. "You wrote everything down in that, right?"

"Oh." I pulled it out of my bag, holding it in front of me. "Yeah, you're right." I looked to Mustang. "When we went door to door, I wrote down everything that was taken."

Mustang looked down to my sketchbook. His hands dropped from their place in front of his mouth, arms stretching behind his head as he stood up.

"We'll need to keep that for a few days." he yawned. "Crucial evidence."

"Yes, of course." I stood up as well, scooting past Ed as he needlessly pulled his legs in for me.

I approached Mustang as he stood to the side of his desk, waiting for me to hand the book to him. The weight of the sketchbook left my hand again, though unlike the time I handed it to Al, the feeling was... Lighter. Not as dark as it was before.

A blush touched my face as I realized Ed's drawing was still in there. Mustang must have seen something in both Ed and I's faces because his stare was shifting between us.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked.

Suddenly beside me, the alchemist cleared his throat with a fist, smiling as he tried to act casual. "No, nothing!" I saw a bead of sweat on his temple as he continued on. "There's just a little doodle I made in there. Nothing really worth mentioning!" He gave a horribly weak laugh as Al came up behind him, connecting his fist with the top of his older brother's head.

"How many times do I have to say it, brother?" Al scolded, putting his hands on his hips. "That drawing is SO not a doodle!"

My heart leaped as Mustang gave Ed a suspicious look, flipping open my sketchbook.

He was thumbing past all my alchemy circles, eyes speeding over all of them as they zoomed past.

"That can't be right." Mustang was saying. "Your drawings are always terrible."

Ed gritted his teeth, one fist raised in front of him. I saw a blood vessel bulging against his skin.

The sketchbook's pages suddenly stopped, an expression of surprise coming to Mustang. He studied the page for a few moments before glancing up at me.

"A simple doodle doesn't cover it." he mused, looking back down to Ed's art. "You could probably sell this drawing."

"Um... I... Uh..." Ed blinked, obviously at a loss for what to say.

"Hmph." Mustang quickly drew his fingers together and shut the book, straightening as his other hand found the pocket of his uniform. "Maybe I should've reconsidered your State title." An open hand passed in front of him, a rare expression of a full smile with shining eyes. "'Just Short' Alchemist!"

That expression was closed off, reduced to nothing but a smirk as Ed yelled at him.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLIN' SO SHORT YOU GOTTA LIE DOWN ON THE GROUND WITH A MAGNIFYING GLASS AND SQUINT REAL HARD TO TRY AND SEE THEM?!"

Mustang made a talking motion with his hand as he walked back to his desk, sketchbook tucked under one arm. "We get it; you don't like being called short. Write some new material for the next time we see each other, alright?"

This was just answered with more shouts as Al and I dragged Ed away.

Mustang suddenly stopped walking, surprise coming to him.

"Oh." he began. "And Fullmetal?"

We all stopped, turning back to the Brigadier as he continued.

"You'll be happy to know there's rumors of a Philosopher's Stone in Dublith."

Despite the fact that I was holding his metal arm, I could feel the rest of Ed's body tense. Al spoke, bringing Mustang's attention to the teen bound to the armored suit.

"What's a Philosopher's Stone doing in a place like Dublith?"

"I dunno." My sketchbook was placed on Mustang's desk, on top of that paper he was looking at before. "But I'd think it's something you two would be interested in."

"Well, yeah, of course!" Al responded.

Ed swung himself up and out of our grip, both hands finding the pockets of his coat.

"What're they sayin' about the stone?" he asked.

Mustang shrugged. "People've just reported an influx of strange happenings around. Said there's people claiming to be selling stones."

Ed and Al's expression both flatlined into disbelief.

"Selling... Stones?" Ed repeated, one eyebrow twitching.

Mustang fell back into his chair, putting his feet up on his desk. "Yeah, that's what they're sayin'. Mind checking it out for me?"

With a large sigh, Ed spun himself around, walking past Al and I.

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

Before he stepped out the door, Ed stopped, glancing back over his shoulder. I waited beside him, tilting my head in question.

"What's wrong?"

Ed continued to stare at his superior. He stepped through the door, fingers slipping away from the frame as he passed through.

"He didn't give me a lecture..." Ed said softly.

Al and I walked beside him as we moved down the brightly lit hallway, retracing the path we had come.

"Well, he did mention you being old enough not to get one..." I remembered.

"Yeah, but still..." Ed's back was hunched, and his boot scuffed against the floor in a light kick as he kept walking. "That's something he's always done."

Why was he so down about that? Shouldn't it be a good thing Mustang was treating him like an adult? I was about to ask this second question when Al spoke.

"He did make a few comments." Al was smiling with his eyes; he was trying to make Ed feel better. His hands were hovering by his brother, as if he wanted to reach out and hug him.

Ed just made a light ticking sound with his teeth. He was still depressed, and I hated seeing him like this.

Without thinking, I took his arm with both of mine, smiling as I spoke.

"You wanna to go get something to eat? I'm sure there's an ice cream shop open somewhere." I grinned a little more, my conscious screaming at me as I added, "I'll even let you pay!"

Ed just looked at me, and I was relieved to see the frown on his face gone. I was even more relieved to see his mouth spread into a grin. He straightened, hurrying up as his arm hooked inwards a little, securing my hold.

"You're damn right I'm paying!"

I laughed, moving one hand away from him to muffle the sound against my lips. I heard Al laugh with me, relieved his brother was back to normal.

It seemed that all the lights in Central City were on, and it looked even more amazing than it did in the daytime. I watched the street lamps pass by as we made our way down the sidewalk, feeling a child-like excitement that I hadn't experienced in a long time. Much too long, actually.

I smiled to myself, but as time went on, my thoughts eventually led me down a path I'd always been dreading. This case was DONE. It was basically over with. So why was I still here with them?

_Where else would I be?_ I asked myself.

Ed called my name. I looked to him, noticing we were at the entrance of an ice cream parlor before noticing the light concern on his face. I had already relaxed the expression of worry that had crept up onto my face by the time Ed spoke again.

"You okay?"

I smiled brightly. "Yes, of course! Why wouldn't I be?"

He shrugged one shoulder; the arm I wasn't holding onto.

"Your hold just kinda got a little tense." he commented, glancing down to his arm. "That's all."

"O-oh." I immediately let go. "Sorry."

"No," Ed replied, "It's alright—"

The door to the ice cream shop opened up, a worker in a colorfully striped uniform ringing a bell as he shouted, "Ice cream, ice cream, get your half-priced dairy dessert right here! That's right, half-priced, but only for a limited time!"

Distantly, through an open apartment window, another voice rang out. " _Shut. Up!_ I'm trying to _sleep!_ "

The guy just hooked an arm past himself in gesture, yelling again. "Well, you might sleep better with some wonderful frozen milk in your stomach!"

Ed grimaced. "Eck. I forgot ice cream has milk in it..."

I stared at him. "You... You have to be joking..."

He looked to me, that frown still on his face. "What? I've always hated the stuff."

Al crossed his arms. "You'll never get taller if you don't have milk, Brother."

Ed just stuck his tongue out, giving a brief raspberry. I sighed, putting a hand to my face.

"You really haven't changed at all, Ed..."

I didn't mean for the comment to come off as anything close to a challenge, but the next thing I knew, Ed was looking to me again. His hands were back in his coat pockets, golden eyes narrowed at me as he tilted his head upwards.

"You really think I haven't changed, eh?"

I blinked, caught a bit off guard by the sudden shift in his demeanor. After a quick grimace, he suddenly pointed to the ice cream guy still standing outside the door.

"ALRIGHT, SCREAMING ICE CREAM GUY!" he shouted. "GIVE ME EVERY FLAVOR YOU HAVE; I'LL EAT 'EM ALL!"

The guy blinked at him for a moment, allowing the silence to be filled by the apartment shouter again.

"Oh, my god! _Trying. To. Sleep_ here!"

The employee finally grinned, overjoyed as he swept one foot in the air behind him, pushing the door open wide.

"Yes, yes, come in!" he was gushing. "Remember, all flavors are half-price!"

Ed just shot me a mischievous grin. I looked away, failing to suppress my own smile.

"You _are_ paying for this, after all."

After eating all 23 flavors of Mr. Melvin's Marvelous ice cream, Edward Elric—renowned alchemist, certified genius—got a stomach ache.

He let out a groan from his place on the couch, holding his engorged stomach.

"Why'd you talk me into doing that?!" he asked me.

I kept my jaw in my palm, other arm resting on the back of the couch as I rolled my eyes. "You were the one who started it."

Ed rolled onto his side, curling into a ball. His mouth was in that frown again, expression tense. He whimpered, and for a few moments I felt sorry. I was about to reach my hand out to his hair before a sharp grin shot onto his mouth.

"I did it, though." he said. One eye opened, looking at me with that grin still on his face. "You thought I hadn't changed."

Surprised, I leaned back, hands falling away from the couch as he followed me up. He rested one elbow on the couch's back, still grinning as I replied, flustered.

"I-I..." My fingers stopped pushing against each other, a grin of defeat on my face. "Well, I guess I did say that."

Ed laid back down on the couch, hands comfortably folding across his stomach. "So what do I win?"

I looked at him, one eyebrow raised. "It wasn't a bet, Ed..."

He just grinned, laughing a little. "I proved you wrong. That has to count for some kind of reward, right?"

I briefly raised my eyebrows like a shrug as I turned away. "I'll pay for the next meal, how's that?"

I stopped walking, looking behind me as Ed suddenly sat up. He pointed at me, shouting a little as if that could distract me from the shade of pink tinting his cheeks.

"Next time we pass by an ice cream shop!" he told me. "We'll have some, just the two of us!"

A blush of my own came to me. I opened my mouth, then closed it again, my knuckles coming to rest against my lips. Was he implying what I think he was?

My hand moved itself away from my mouth, allowing me to reply.

"But..." I tried to keep myself from talking, but the words wouldn't stop. "What about Al?"

Hearing his name, Al poked his head out from one of the rooms.

"Your tea's almost done, brother!" he called with a wave. "You should have your stomach feeling better in no time!"

Ed kept his head down, hand behind his hair. This position made it so his arm hid most of his face from me, and I only saw part of his lips move in an absentminded reply.

"Yeah, thanks, Al."

My foot shifted back. "I'll go see if Al needs any help with anything."

Ed didn't reply. He just dropped his hand away, arm landing heavily against his lap. The impact went straight to my heart, and I felt nothing but guilt. What was I doing?! I needed to say something; yes, I would love to go for ice cream with you, Ed‼

But the words wouldn't come. My feet turned me around and kept moving me further away; before I knew it, I was stepping out of the hallway and into the room Al was in.

He looked at me, the bed sheet parachuting down from his whipping gesture.

"What're you doing, Al?" I asked.

He smiled. "You never know how dirty these sheets really are!" he told me. "I was just putting on a fresh set for you!"

I smiled back, raising my hand to the back of my hair. "Oh, Al, that's so sweet of you! You didn't have to do that!"

"It's alright." He was smoothing out the middle of it and quickly tucking the corners underneath the mattress. "I know how great it is to sleep in fresh sheets."

I smiled, feeling that sad weight settle in my heart again. My hands came up to hold my arms, watching as he bundled up the old sheets that were on the floor.

"Thank you." I said.

He just smiled at me again, nodding.

"Of course!" he replied, carrying an armful of white sheets. I stepped to the side, allowing him to pass by me and walk into the hallway.

"I think your tea's done, brother." Al was saying.

I leaned against the wall, keeping my stare low to avoid looking out into the living room. I heard Ed reply, his voice quiet and defeated as he told Al to give it to me; I'd probably like it.

"What?" Al asked. "Why? I thought your stomach was hurting!"

"Doesn't hurt anymore."

I looked down even more, bowing my head. I had to say something... What was I doing, leaving him to dwell like this? What kind of friend was I?

_A horrible one._ I answered.

He doesn't need this... He doesn't need to be dealing with _me_ on top of everything else.

"Ed..." I stepped out of the room, out into the hallway again.

The couch was empty. I looked around, only seeing Al stare at me from behind his shoulder, pouring tea into a mug.

"He went out for a walk." the younger Elric told me.

I felt like punching the wall. I stifled my sigh, allowing the weight to move my shoulders down a bit more.

"A-alright..." I responded quietly. "I'll wait up for him, I guess..."

But by the time Ed had gotten back, fatigue had gotten the best of me and I'd fallen asleep on the couch.


	9. Dublith

I woke up with a blanket over my body. Soft, thick, and a deep red—it was incredibly nice, but I didn't remember even cuddling up with it before I fell asleep. I sat up, looking down at the blanket. Come to think of it, I don't even remember noticing any blankets around the hotel room...

My attention was drawn to the kitchen area, where Al was humming in front of the stove. His back was to me, but I could see the tall chef hat on top of his helmet, the ties of a white apron across his back.

"Good morning, Al!" I chirped.

The younger Elric looked behind his shoulder and smiled at me. He echoed my greeting just as happily. The silence left me to look around, wondering aloud where Ed was.

The alchemist in question stepped out of the bedroom, bright eyes blinking at me.

"You called?"

The events of last night shot into my consciousness, the pain forcing me to look down. I listened as Ed approached the kitchen, stopping at the bar counter to say something to his brother.

He was completely happy... Like nothing between us had even happened. I watched him continue to lean on the counter, grinning at Al as the teen in the suit continued cooking... Whatever he was making.

"You've been reading all those recipes at the library, huh, Al?"

Al turned to look at him, making me notice how his chef hat was a little crooked. The front of his white apron was stained with pancake batter, too. He smiled at Ed with his eyes, giggling a little.

"I sure have!" Al replied. "There's so many books on cooking I haven't read yet! I'll need you guys to be my taste testers so I know which recipes to save for when I get my body back!"

Ed just grinned a little more. "Sure thing!"

I only smiled, and a few moments later, a small stack of piping hot pancakes were being offered to me.

"Bon appétit."

I looked up at Al, seeing his smile. I wanted to reach up and adjust that crooked hat, but something about the skewedness just seemed to fit...

"Thank you!" I took the plate, giving a small laugh as I picked up the fork he had in between two of his fingers.

"Hey, not bad, Al." Ed commented through the side of his mouth. He was leaning against the counter, one arm resting on the granite slab.

"Really?" Al said.

Ed nodded a few times, taking another bite. "Needs some syrup, though."

"Oh‼" Al sped off to the stove again. "I made some right here! I just forgot to put it on!"

Ed and I both grinned as Al darted between us, pouring enough syrup on my small stack and Ed's massive pile. I blinked at how many pancakes he had; how did he eat that much?!

"Thanks, Al." Ed grinned as his brother tilted the syrup container upright.

Al smiled. "You're welcome, brother! I'm glad you like the pancakes!"

I smiled, watching with one arm on the couch, one hand supporting the side of my face. Ed just nodded at his brother's reply, cutting off another piece of three pancake layers.

He slipped the fork in between his lips, the utensil turned upside down.

"Hey, so I bumped into Hawkeye on the way back from Central library." he said suddenly.

I wasn't sure who Hawkeye was, but Al seemed ecstatic.

"Really? How's she doing?"

Ed just nodded along, taking another bite in that weird way of his. "She's doing well. Nothing much going on. She told me a little bit about that Philosopher's Stone in Dublith, though."

"She did?" I asked. "What'd she say?"

Ed's stare flickered to me, and just meeting his eyes caused a flash of pain to my chest. He resumed eating.

"Said something about a friend of a friend of a friend buying one. They're trying to trace that one all on their own, but Hawkeye said the stone costed a _hoot_ load of money."

I raised my eyebrow at his censored language as Al started thinking.

"This doesn't make any sense, brother." he said. "There's no way..."

"Yeah," There was something in Ed's voice; a frustration, a pain, as he set his empty plate on the counter. "Which means we're just going to Dublith to bust some fakers."

"So it's a lost cause..." Al's voice echoed in the suit more than usual, the sound of hopelessness ringing clear.

Ed remained quiet, picking up the mug of coffee Al had set down with his breakfast. He took a sip as I looked down, wanting to say something and get the mood light again. I noticed the blanket again and leaned to the side, setting my partially-eaten breakfast down on the coffee table.

"Where did this blanket come from?"

I held the item in question away from me as I spoke, noticing a familiar Flamel insignia decorated through the blanket's faux fur. I turned to Ed, watching his eyes curve into a smile over the rim of his cup. Heat rose to my face as I looked down, resting the blanket on my lap again in wrinkled folds. I had to say something; I felt awful for last night...

And he was nice enough to do this after everything...

Why was I such a terrible friend?

_____________

  
I got to thinking again, as we were walking back to the station. I figured they were going to part ways with me at the train station, where they would aboard the next train to Dublith, and... I would take the next one back home...

My stomach felt like it was about to reject Al's breakfast when I heard Ed's voice. Both he and Al stopped walking.

"You okay?" he asked me.

I stopped walking as well. I looked to him, still pained by the sight of the concern on his face. I nodded, turning away from his gaze.

"Yeah. Just... Wondering about getting home, is all."

Al tilted his head. "What do you mean?" he asked.

I blinked at him, momentarily at a loss for a reply. "We're... Parting ways at the station, aren't we?"

Ed seemed just as shocked as I was. He shook it off, giving a light scoff as he buried his hands in his pockets.

"Like we'd leave each other like that." he said, the slightest of pink in his face. "We're already waitin' to hear back from that last case, so you might as well tag along. If anyone needs to contact you, they can just find us. Makes everything easier."

I felt incredibly relieved, but I only let it spread into a smile. My face heated up a little bit. "Yes, that's right! I guess I wasn't really thinking!" I tried to laugh a little bit, seeing that slight smile come back to Ed again.

I guess things were back to normal between us.

We all started walking, and I found I had my hands behind my back. There was a happiness fluttering around me, too, and I was even smiling without realizing it. Without forcing it.

The butterflies increased, tickling the inside of my stomach. I felt like a little kid again. But my mind had to go elsewhere, falling back into that abyss.

"I just hope I can help you out on this case!" I said, echoing my thoughts.

I heard a quick grin shoot onto Ed's mouth. I turned just in time to see him finish looking away from me. I followed his gaze, seeing we were approaching the train station's platform. The train to Dublith was already waiting.

"You don't have anything to worry about." he told me softly.

"Rush Valley... Next stop, Rush Valley..."

I glanced away from the ceiling, hearing the conductor's voice fade into the train's light background noise.

We'd been on this train for hours... I needed to get up and stretch. But I noticed something about the two alchemists sitting across from me had changed.

"Are you two alright?"

Al looked up, Ed just gave me a small glance, continuing to rest his palm in his jaw. Continuing to look out the window as his younger brother replied.

"Y-Yeah!" he said. "It's... Just been a while since we've been here!"

"Really?" I asked. "How long has it been?"

Al tapped his chin, looking away from me. "Ummm..."

"Three years." Ed's voice sounded horrible; incredibly weak.

I looked to him for a long moment, seeing his head had moved down enough to hide his bangs over his eyes. Covering his expression from me.

"Y-yeah." Al nodded quickly. "Almost three years, that's right! It's been a while..."

I wondered what in the heck was going on... I looked down at the aisle, wondering what I should say. What I _could_ say... My mind was pulling me in another direction, away from this conversation.

"What do we do," I began, "When we get to Dublith?"

If anything, this comment just seemed to make Ed even _quieter_. I saw his shoulders slump a bit further, part of my mind listening as Al spoke.

"We'll probably just ask around, like we did before."

I nodded absentmindedly, still wondering what was going on... First Rush Valley, then something with Dublith?

I didn't understand.

My hand curled into a fist, bunching up my skirt a little bit.

"Ed..."

He looked towards me, bangs swinging and covering half of one eye. His hand lifted, finger sweeping his hair away. Those golden eyes looked perfectly normal, everything I had seen before... All that strange heaviness... Gone.

"Yeah?" he asked, and returned my name back to me.

I looked to him for another moment, trying to find something more in his perfectly innocent stare. A blush moved to his cheeks, and I quickly held up a hand with a smile.

"Nothing!" I replied, waving a hand a little bit. "I forgot what I was going to say!"

"Um," He sat up a bit, confusion clenching the space between his brows, "Okay. Lemme know when you remember it."

I nodded, fighting back the embarrassment on my face. "Of course. I will."

I didn't, of course...

It was nice to get to Dublith, but almost as soon as I started to enjoy the feeling of walking again and stretching out my legs, I noticed Ed slump into that space again. He kept walking alongside me, and even though Al was following behind, he didn't seem to comment about his brother's shift in mood.

Al suddenly stopped walking. I turned around, hearing the pivot of Ed's boot as he did the same.

"Should we go door-to-door again, brother?" Al asked.

Ed straightened his posture, leaning his head back with a slight groan. "Yeah, maybe. We might wanna just see what we pick up walking around town, though. This place has to be buzzing with activity, if they're really selling these things."

I nodded, and a minute or two later, Ed was leading us into a restaurant. He spun around and pushed the doors open with his back, giving me a mischievous grin.

I smiled, turning away. "If you really wanna pay..." I honestly didn't _want_ him too, but he seemed to really enjoy spending money like that. Whatever I had to do to get him out of that funk.

Ed just grinned even more and gave a light cackle, stepping back and holding the door open as I entered the restaurant. I blushed a little bit, keeping my hands behind me as I walked past him.

"You really don't have to." I said quietly.

Ed just had the side of his finger against the base of his nose, a blush on his face as well. "Well... Y'know..."

His attention snapped to the outside as Al spoke.

"I'll go look around town."

Ed nodded, seeming just as pleased with the suggestion. "We'll check in here, Al!"

"Alright!" With a quick wave, Al started along the sidewalk again.

I turned back, about to tease and ask him just how much we were going to work on this case. But Ed was already getting us a table, waving at me from the center of the room.

I smiled back, striding over and fighting back the butterflies in my gut. This wasn't our ice cream date, but I had to give him a hand for setting this up so smoothly.

Conversation was strained at first, nothing but us staring down at the menus we'd been given. Despite the fact that I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast (and denied Ed's offer to buy something on the train), I didn't feel very hungry.

I looked up, watching Ed continue to stare at my side of the table. He looked focused, hands folded in front of his lips. I realized what he was doing; the background noise of the restaurant became a little sharper, the voices gradually becoming separate from each other.

The restaurant looked fairly high-end, and I put together another piece of Ed's complex plan. He mentioned the stone was expensive, so if anyone would be talking about it...

"Can I get you two anything to drink?"

My attention snapped back, seeing a waiter beam down at me. I frantically opened my menu, searching for the drink section.

"Is your chardonnay any good?" Ed was asking the waiter.

The man nodded solemnly. "Very smooth this afternoon, sir."

"Ed," my voice turned the Alchemist's attention towards me, "It's one in the afternoon... And you're working, aren't you?"

This last point seemed to be the one to change his mind. He frown a little. "Ah, yeah. I guess you're right."

His hand began waving the waiter away. "Give us a minute, will ya?" Ed suddenly stopped, eyes widening as they stared at me from the rim of the menu. His hand moved into a fist. "No, wait."

The waiter stopped walking away, and instantly he was back to our table. "Yes, sir?"

I suppressed a sigh. I wondered if this guy actually thought we had any money at all...

"Uh," Ed's eyes were frantically searching the menu, wide with nervousness. He looked to me again, asking what I wanted to drink.

I smiled to the waiter. "Just some water, please."

Irritation spiked into Ed's expression, and I grinned. Water was so cheap that it was free to drink. I was keeping my side of the bill as low as possible, especially in a place like this.

"Make it some really nice water..." Ed murmured, setting his menu down as he closed it.

"Yes, sir."

The waiter didn't move to write our order down, probably just thinking about how cheap we were. Wondering if he should lock the doors, in case we decided to dine and dash...

He just blinked, continuing on. "And to eat?"

I quickly focused back to my menu, listening as Ed rambled on and ordered at least half the menu for himself. How can someone eat this much?!

I suddenly found something on the menu that looked appealing. But my eyes swept to the price, and I shoved the idea of having lobster out my brain.

Ed's voice suddenly cut off. He seemed to be following my stare, turning to the next page and looking at the same side I was.

"No, Ed—"

"And we'll split your lobster, too."

My face found the table. I sighed against the white fabric, wishing I could somehow get rid of his attention for detail.

"What?" Ed returned as the waiter nodded and walked away with a long list of food. "We're splitting it."

I picked my head up, supporting my jaw with one hand. I reminded myself not to comment; this was getting him away from whatever mood he had been in before. The sounds of the restaurant drifted into my focus again.

"Have you heard anything?" I asked him quietly.

Ed swept his eyes to the people behind me, stare searching. "No. Not yet. We should probably keep talking, though. Make it look like we're just, um..." His stare dropped, mouth becoming a grin as his cheeks went a bit red. "Like we're just a couple of friends out for lunch."

"And ordering half of the kitchen." I muttered, returning his grin.

He just nodded, eyes moving down and away from me. He picked his arm up, bringing it around to the back of his head. I recognized the tinge of pink coming to his face; the same shade it had been last night, when he half-yelled at me for us to go have ice cream together.

"Ed..." I began. "About last night..."

The Alchemist instantly shook his head, dismissing my soon-to-be apology. His eyes swept the space off to my left, still focusing.

"Don't worry about it." he said quietly. "I understand."

I hated hearing that. He'd been crushed when I was STUPID enough to reject him, and now he's probably even more hurt. He must have seen the emotions in my face because he looked back to me. Ed gave a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"I said don't worry about it!" he told me. "We're having something now, aren't we?"

"Y-yeah." I straightened, avoiding his gaze. My fingers moved along the table, nails gently scraping against the white fabric. "I'm..."

"Your waters." The announcement was spoken with a slight bite to it, and I picked my hands up off the table as a glass of ice water was placed in front of me.

I beamed at the waiter, who met my expression with a incredibly polite smile. "Thank you!"

He simply nodded. "Your food will be out in just a moment."

I returned his nod, and heard Ed give a word of thanks as the man walked away from us a little too quickly. I sighed and Ed instantly asked what was wrong.

"That guy probably thinks we're broke..." I said, shaking my head.

The Alchemist just grinned. "Wait til he sees his tip, then."

"The military pays well." I added a question to my voice; one he answered with a nod.

"I've been taking more cases lately," he replied, and I noticed a bit of sadness in his voice, a bit of roughness, "So that's where the influx of cash is coming from."

I nodded, wanting to find out more but deciding to keep the topic at bay. There was something he didn't want to talk about, and I wasn't about to make him.

Ed motioned to me with his water, almost like a toast. "So tell me about that martial art school you run."

Memories ransacked my brain.

Alphonse's voice, asking me if I had to go home and teach soon. And I told him I might call and have someone cover—I COMPLETELY FORGOT!

My panic was written on my face as a complete expression of hopelessness. Ed looked alarmed. "Is everything okay?!"

I snapped out, realizing I could cover my tracks. "Y-yes! Everything's fine! I just remembered I forgot to call and have someone cover, that's all!"

"Oh." He relaxed, the hair that had stood up falling back into place. "Okay. What're you going to do?"

"I could probably stop by a phone after we're finished." I mused, looking out to the entrance. "Classes don't start until tomorrow, but I'm sure everyone's wondering why they haven't seen me around!"

"Yeah," Ed leaned back, still seeming a tad shaken from seeing me so stressed, "I'd be worried, too."

I sent him a smile, one he looked up to catch and send right back. The arms of the waiter suddenly came into my sight, hands placing a massive, steaming lobster between us.

Ed was already drooling, fork and knife in hand. "Ah, wow, that looks great!"

He looked around as more food was placed in front of him by multiple people, quickly covering his side of the table. He grinned with pure glee. I just smiled, reaching to pull off a claw from the lobster.

The dial felt heavy against my finger as I rotated it. Dialing the number like I was phoning a ghost.

I held the phone to my ear, hearing the dull tone disappear and reappear as my call was connected.

And kept trying to connect.

I cleared my throat, looking out beyond the glass beside me. Meeting Ed and Al's smiling eyes as they waited close by.

"Hi," I said into the phone, "You're still here, right?"

No one spoke; the tone repeated again.

I made a sound of agreement in the back of my throat, nodding a little bit. "I'm glad to hear that!" I forced a smile onto my face, turning to the dial in front of me. The numbers stared back. Just as empty as the non-existent person I was talking to.

"See, I was calling about that, actually..." I began. "I was hoping..." I couldn't even say the words. I pretended to agree again, beaming a smile. "Yes, that's right! I don't think it'll be for too long, but you'll be able to handle it, right?"

The dial tone just buzzed.

"I'll let you know when I'm about to come back. Shouldn't be for more than a few days!"

I felt my chest begin to crack. I _couldn't_ go back. I couldn't even bare the thought...

I pretended to laugh, hoping Ed and Al couldn't hear me through the glass. The sound was horrible.

"Okay. I'll talk to you soon... Yes... Okay."

The phone was replaced, and I kept my hand on it. I resisted the urge to hang my head, realizing I had to step out of the phone booth now. I could hear Ed and Al talking about something, the tone of their conversation light. It made it easier to slip out of that glass box, the door falling shut behind me.

I stepped around, meeting them again with a smile.

"Hi!"

Ed turned, giving a grin as Al greeted me.

"Did you get everything squared away?" the younger Elric asked.

I nodded, fighting back the feeling of my insides drying up. "Yes, everything's perfectly settled."

"Great! We can keep looking now." Al turned, head moving across the opposite side of the street. "I was just telling brother I got wind of a shop on the opposite side of town. Downtown, actually."

"Really?" I asked. "That's wonderful! Is it close by?"

Al nodded. "It's only a few minutes walk from here."

Ed just put a hand on his brother's arm. "Just lead the way, Al!"

"Right!" Al nodded.

Ed and I trailed behind as Al led us down the sidewalk again. Within a few minutes of silence, however, I noticed Ed's posture slumping again. I suppressed a sigh, making note of how his head was bowed so low, bangs hiding his eyes from me again.

My mind suddenly, finally, started working again. A memory came; I'd asked about Winry, and Ed's soft reply accompanied the sight of the sidewalk.

_"...In a relationship with some guy from Dublith, which is interesting."_

I looked to Ed, seeing his stare stay so low to the ground.

_"Last I heard, they were making plans to marry."_

Before I could think otherwise, I reached out, taking his hand in mine. He looked up, seeming to snap out of whatever thoughts he was having. A blush touched his cheeks, and for a moment, he did nothing but stare at me.

I smiled, trying not to feel morbidly embarrassed for what I was doing. Suddenly, the suit of armor in front of us shifted, and before Al had even turned around half-way, both of Ed's hands were in his pockets. His eyes were closed, a light scowl replacing whatever he had been feeling before. I withdrew my hand, trying not to feel hurt as I listened to what Al had stopped to tell us.

"The Devil's Nest, right?"

I heard a sound of interest come from Ed, his calm voice accompanying it a moment later.

"Yeah, if that's the place you say it is." A grin came to him. "What a trip, huh?"

A much different voice came from Al's suit and it rang out clear. Like someone wasn't speaking from a suit.

"You don't know the half of it, you little runt!"

I watched as a red light surrounded Al, parting from the middle and revealing another body. Long hair flowed down, wildly framing a wicked grin. Purple eyes narrowed.

"Hey there, pipsqueak." The thing that was ONCE Al said. "See you've grown about half a centimeter since I saw you last."

Ed's eyes were wide. Fearful. His boot slid back, about to take a full step as a single word came from his mouth.

"Envy..."

The... Person in front of us just grinned a bit bigger, laughing through his wide smile. "Uh, yeah. Been a little while, hasn't it?"

"W-Wh..." Ed was struggling for words, still trying to regain his composure. His face was pale, ghost-like. "What'd you do with Al, you bastard?" His words were broken, the curse nothing but a sound cracking out of his throat.

Envy grinned again before his hands left his hips, raising out in a bored shrug. "Ah, he's probably having a nice talk with some fellow Homunculi of mine. Seems fitting that our mutual hatred for you two brought us together."

"Fellow Homunculi?" I repeated quietly. I flinched a little bit as Envy spoke to me, lips puckered as he teased.

"Nice hand-holding there, girlie. If I'd known you and the pipsqueak were so close, I would've kidnapped you instead."

This seemed to kick Ed back into his normal self. I heard a growl before seeing him in front of Envy, holding the Homunculus up by the shirt. Ed jerked his hands forward, roughly giving a shake as he spoke. His voice was low, and I felt my insides turn cold at the sound of it.

"Tell me where Al is or I'll kill you again."

Envy just smirked. "Like I wouldn't just come back." His eyes closed, one hand on Ed's human wrist. "Well..." The hand clenched, the strength seeming painful. "Instead of just telling you..."

Before I knew what was going on, Ed had been thrown through the double doors, barreling down the staircase. "LET ME SHOW YOU!"

I hit the back of my heel against the ground, revealing the compartment ready to tie this THING up with the ground.

"Oh, no." Envy was suddenly behind me, and I felt his leg sweep mine. My arm came up just in time for the side of my forearm to scrape against the ground, cushioning the impact and saving what could have been a possible broken neck.

I continued on with the momentum, pushing against the ground with my other hand and rolling to my feet. My balance was almost off-set by the ground rumbling, like there was an earthquake. My hand found the side of the building's broken entrance as Ed's voice yelled at me from the base of the stairs, telling me to get out of the way.

I watched as the ground beneath Envy shot upwards in sections, the ends becoming narrow and tapered to points as they pierced through him. My eyes shut as I saw the blood begin to spray out of his body like miniature fountains. And when the rumbling had stopped, I willed my eyes to open again. They did, and with my vision a little skewed from how heavily I was leaning against the doorframe, I saw what happened to Envy.

Spikes had been embedded into him. A lot of them. The sharp points of the ground lurched upwards, and as soon as they had fully slammed through their target—whether it was through an arm or a leg or all the way from the groin to the forehead—more spikes shot out from the sides like thorns.

I stared in horror. There was so much blood...

Ed's ragged breathing brought my focus to the staircase as he finished climbing up. With his body bent over, he looked at me, making sure I wasn't hurt before his eyes turned to Envy. Envy met his stare, mouth open in shock—or perhaps because a spike was holding his chin downwards.

"That should hold him until I get Al back," Edward told me. "You need to get out of here."

"But—"

"No." He held up a hand, and I only had to remember the first time I had tried to help them.

I stepped back. I wasn't going to risk losing Ed's sight again because of my stupid mistakes.

"Alright." I looked to Envy, who gave the best glare he could given the spikes in his forehead. "Where should I go? What if he finds me?"

"Fuck."

I turned back to Ed, incredibly surprised to hear him curse like that. His hand was in his hair, expression narrowed in frustrated thought.

"Dammit," he cursed again. I could tell his mind was at a crossroad. Soon, he picked a path. He looked to me.

"How well can you transmute carbon?"

I popped the lid beneath my right shoe open. "I got a transmutation circle engraved right here."

I heard Envy sneer with the upper portion of his mouth, the annoyed sound turning into pain. I guess doing facial expressions hurt him, too. I noticed Ed glance to him, and briefly I followed his gaze, seeing the Homunculus' skin try and regrow. Regenerate around the spikes. But there were a lot of spikes for him to work around; like Ed had told me, it would take a while for him to recover.

"Let's go." Ed took off down the stairs and I followed behind.

He didn't seem hurt from the concrete steps he'd fallen on, or if he was then he wasn't showing it. Maybe the metal parts of his body absorbed most of the impact, or maybe he just healed himself again...

We were headed down a long hallway and seemed to be approaching the door at the very end. As Ed began to turn his shoulder to the door, he clapped his hands, placing his left one on his right wrist. The transmutation light was nearly blinding, the color a roaring mixture of blue and red.

"ALRIGHT, LET'S GET THIS OVER WITH!"

The entrance broke open under his force, slamming down onto the floor as Ed followed through with the momentum. He landed ahead of the broken door, and despite the cloud of dust from the wood, I could see the massive blade he had transmuted part of his arm into. The tip dragged against the ground as he rose from his hunched position, the blade barely touching the floor as he straightened to his full height.

"Which one of you disgusting Homunculi am I killing first?"

What was happening?! I'd never seen Ed like this, but I was also so confused about Homunculi. Artificial people were nothing but hypotheses... But maybe not; not after I had seen Envy...

I braced my fear, surveying the room. Al was there, bound to the wall in thick chains that also captured his hands and feet together. They had gone a bit overboard, but the positions of his hands and feet together like that did prevent him from using alchemy. I shook the thought away, scanning the other two in the room.

One of them a blonde haired lady, who seemed incredibly bored with the situation. The other, a man who was much more fat than he was tall.

"Thanks for the quiet entrance," the woman drawled. "You ruined our door, too..."

"What a pain, right?" Ed replied, seeming to be quoting something. "Now who the hell are you?"

The woman just smirked. "I don't feel like giving an introduction." She shrugged one shoulder, hand flourishing away from her face and staying palm-up. "Just let me be the one who collects the bounty on your head, Fullmetal Alchemist."

Ed stared at her. "What? What bounty?"

Her purple eyes narrowed, smile turning coy. "Let's cut the chit-chat, shall we? I've got more work to do after this."

"I couldn't agree more." He charged forward, and Al suddenly grabbed both of our focus.

"Brother! She's not like Greed!"

I heard the slightest sound of surprise from Edward before seeing the blood shoot out of his arm. Pieces of his coat fluttered to the ground as I saw something _else_ swing down. Something long and narrow; stringy. Oh, God—was that a tendon?!

I tried to scream for him but the sound of his voice drowned out mine.

He fought to stay standing, the muscle dragging against the floor. He groaned through gritted teeth, watching as the tall Homunculus slowly walked forward, heels clicking against the floor.

"See," she began, "the thing about Homunculi is that we have these powers." Her hand went towards Ed's face, and he cried out again, like she was ripping the muscles in his face from the inside. "But I'm sure you know all about that."

My mind came back to me. I hit my shoe against the floor, transmuting the ground and attempting to grab her. She slipped out of my concrete grasp with a single jump upwards, the makeshift hand crumbling as she stood on it. _Searing_ pain came to my leg, and through squinted eyes I looked down to see my muscles outside of my skin. Disconnected and spread out against the floor.

I cursed loudly, the word ripping out of me as I heard Ed yell out my name. The sound of clapping came and I saw nothing but bright red. Another scream wailed out, but this was from a voice I didn't recognize.

When the flash died down and the dots crowding my vision cleared enough, I saw the room was mostly filled with spikes. Coming out from every direction, every side of the room. And in the center, the blonde Homunculus, now coated in pink-red blood, twitching in silent agony.

Ed walked forward, hand about to clutch his left arm before thinking better of it. He stopped in front of the Homunculus, the purple eye that didn't have a spike driven through it looking to him.

"Who sent you?" he snapped. "What's this about a bounty on my head?"

The Homunculus twitched one side of her lip. Ed blinked.

"Oh... Right..."

He clapped again, placing his usable hand on a few of the spikes through her mouth and neck. They retracted, her wounds healing over in bright-red currents of electricity as she smiled.

"Foolish boy."

Multiple muscles in his right leg ripped out, the longer ones splaying onto the ground as he fell forward, holding himself up against a spike with a forearm. He screamed through his agony, and I adjusted some of my weight onto my right leg; the one with the muscles ripped out of it. I stifled a scream, voice lurching against my mouth as tears ran beneath my vision. But soon, the marking on the bottom of my shoe was completely against the floor.

I transmuted one of the spikes, driving a longer one through her head. Pink blood shot out, splattering the base of the spikes and the surface of the floor. The tips of Edward's leg muscles, too. I took a prolonged blink, holding back my nausea.

"Why won't you die?" I asked her.

"Oh, it seems we have a novice!" she said, her voice sounding odd; like she was speaking while holding one side of her mouth wide open. My eyes shot open again. I looked up, realizing I had driven the spike through the side of her mouth and beyond. She could still talk, so she could still transmute.

I was ready to drive another spike into her when Ed called my name.

"Don't," he said. "I need to get information out of this bitch."

The part of me that was still worried about trivial things once again became stunned by the language. I looked to him, watching the arm he used to support himself drop away, weight leaning into his metal leg.

"Will you tell me what I need to know," he asked, "or do I have to be holding your stone in order to get you to talk?"

"Stupid boy." Her eyes narrowed, but something about her voice just sounded so funny. I'm sure I would've laughed, if the situation wasn't dangerous and my leg didn't feel like it was numb...

"Pretty impressive Alchemy you got there." A hand suddenly grabbed my hair.

Ed turned, his eyes widening at the person behind me. I tried to get away, hearing a smooth voice speak near my ear.

"Now, now, hold on. Let's take it easy for a second, alright?"

My body suddenly went limp, all hope of struggling gone. I could only meet Ed's fearful gaze with my own, hoping he could hear my pleading thoughts.

"Greed..." he whispered.

"Mm, yeah, that'd be me." My body rose, being pulled up by my hair. I couldn't even scream; I was that disabled.

"How... You're still alive... You, and Envy... And Gluttony..."

The fatter Homunculus, who had been in the corner sucking on his entire hand, suddenly started jumping around. He clapped his oversized hands together above his head.

"New me! New me!"

"New...?" Ed repeated.

Gluttony trained his stare on Edward, a large open-mouthed grin coming to him, strings of drool separating between his large teeth.

"Food..." he said. "I've been hungry. There hasn't been anything to _eat_ down here!"

"Here." Ed clapped his hands again, leaning back and placing his metal one on the spike behind him. I watched another spike shoot forward, spreading out into three pitch fork-like tongs that embedded into the Homunculus' arms and mouth. His tongue had risen upwards, the middle spike piercing through the large tattoo before stabbing into his face. "Chew on this."

The tip of Gluttony's tongue wiggled around, a soft moan coming to him.

Behind me, Greed gave a smirking laugh. "Damn, you really don't know what's going on, do you, kid?"

He moved the hand holding me up, waving me around like I was a doll. "So are you gonna come with us peacefully or do I have to make your girlie friend here really scream?"

Anger finally came to Edward's face. I could see he was still in pain from his injuries. The glossiness of his eyes told me that much.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. His metal hand pointed to Gluttony, who was hopelessly trying to wiggle his body out of the spikes, just resulting in more pink-blood sloshing out onto the floor. "Why is he back alive?!"

Greed just sighed. "God, you really don't listen do you, shorty?" He ignored the flash of pure annoyance in Ed's expression. He moved me around again, and this time I was able to cry out. "Come with us," he said, sounding out everything as if he were scolding a child. "We'll let your—"

"That's it." Ed clapped his metal hand against his disabled one. "I'm done asking questions."

Red lightning roared towards me.


	10. Stopping and Stalling

I woke up in a hospital bed. Ed was sitting in chair close by, the daytime light from the window catching onto the metal of his automail. His coat was off, set onto the back of the empty chair beside him. I was transfixed by the prosthetic arm for another moment before memories came back to me. My eyes scanned over his human arm, fully revealed by the tank top. There was no wound... It was perfectly healed.

But that didn't make any sense; his _muscle_ had been torn out.

My thoughts had naturally made my head turn downward, and soon enough I caught sight of the splint tightly capturing my right leg. That's right—the memory, and the pain, of my own muscles shooting out of my body came back. I shuddered the feeling away before hearing someone gently smack their lips together—like they were waking up from a long sleep.

When I looked back, Ed was raising his head up a bit more, giving me view of the lines beneath his half-lidded eyes. He looked exhausted.

"Ed..." I called to him, bringing his golden stare to me.

He perked up, his eyes seeming much more alive. Normal, even.

He grinned at me. "Oh, hey." he greeted. "I'm glad to see you're up! How're you feeling?"

"I..." Memories came back again, and I shook my head in pure confusion. "How are _you_ feeling? Your body..."

"Perfectly normal." He moved his arm so I could see the side of his forearm. Just like I suspected, there was no sign of any injury. Not even a scar. "Well, as normal as my body _could_ be, of course."

I didn't echo his self-deprecating laugh, continuing to think. Again, I gave up trying to figure everything out and just asked him.

He leaned back in his chair, putting one arm on the back of the seat beside him and crossing his legs.

"Well..." he began, "After Greed grabbed you and I told him to shut up, my transmutation light went red again." His brows came closer together in thought. "I was able to drive a spike through him; he has this shield that's _supposedly_ the best thing ever and can block _anything_ but really it's just made of carbon." He waved a hand, dismissing his ramble. "Anyway, some of my spikes went through, like the material was adapting as it pierced into him."

"That's..." I let the stunned expression on my face speak for itself.

"I know; it's impossible."

I looked down, thinking for a moment before asking, "Okay, then what happened? How are you healed like this?"

Ed shrugged, bringing his human arm in front of himself to look at it again. "After I took care of Greed—"

"Took care of him?!"

He looked to me. "Well, yeah, I wasn't about to let the guy just walk out of there—"

"What..." Words failed me, and part of my brain felt horrible for interrupting him like this. But... He couldn't have killed that guy, right? Not Ed; he wouldn't have...

A memory of Ed's voice came back, the sight of him holding Envy up by the shirt.

_"Tell me where Al is or I'll kill you again."_

I looked up at the sound of my name. Ed spoke it softly, his eyes turned away.

"They're... Not really people..." he told me. He shook his head. "A few years back, I would've completely agreed with never taking their lives... No way. But now... If they're going to fight me like this, especially like they did before, I can't risk leaving them alive."

"What do you mean 'before?'" My voice was a whisper. "This happened _before?_ "

Ed raised a shoulder, metal clicking at the action. "Well, yeah. Sort of. Maybe Al can help me fill everything in when he gets back."

"Where'd he go?" A better reply came to me. "YOU LET HIM GO OUT ALONE?"

Ed waved away my yell. "He left a few minutes ago. He's filling in a report on what happened for me. No big deal; he's probably surrounded by military officials we've known for years!"

I blinked. "They'd let him do that?"

"Yeah, I mean, he was an eyewitness to everything, even if he was bound to the wall the whole time." His expression soured, narrowed eyes sweeping to the doorway. "They'll probably ask me to give reference when he gets back... I hate doing this kind of stuff..."

I allowed myself to laugh, the sound muted by my knuckles against my mouth. I saw Ed look back to me, a soft smile curving his lips.

He sank deeper into the chair, still smiling as he asked, "How're you feeling?"

"Wait, you never answered my question." I remembered. "How are you healed like that?"

"Oh yeah." A characteristically large grin came to him. His hand went to the back of his hair. "Sorry. Um, so after I told Greed to put a cork in it—" His eyes curved in a light smile as I tried to stifle my laughter again "—and those spikes went through him, sorta, I started healing, too."

His metal hand reached around to his human arm, as if he were gathering the muscles and sweeping them back in again. "All my muscles came back and reattached like it was some kind of transmutation."

"And you're perfectly fine?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I feel great." He smiled again. "You didn't answer my question, though."

"Oh." I grinned, feeling foolish we were bouncing around topics like this. "Sorry." As he shook his head to dismiss my apology, I looked down at my leg. "I don't really feel much of anything. Not in my leg, anyway."

I moved my toes, relieved to find that at least those were functioning perfectly. I couldn't shift my foot around, though; doing so caused a light spike of pain.

With a soft concern, Ed looked over at the door again. "Doctor was telling me around an hour ago that the recovery time shouldn't take too long." he said.

I nodded, trying to smile through my guilt. "I wouldn't want to slow you two down, though."

"Um..." Ed turned away, avoiding my stare. "That's kinda what we need to talk to you about, actually..." He added my name, and there was a sadness in there that told me what he wasn't saying aloud.

"You're..." I couldn't even say the words. I swallowed, forcing myself to blurt it out and watch Ed turn further away from me. "You're leaving me here?!"

"It's not because you're slowing us down." he responded quickly, looking back. "We just don't want you to get any more hurt."

_There's no way..._ I wanted to say this, but the words stopped themselves inside my mouth, dying from my own anger. I could feel myself breaking, the walls and all those layers I thought made up my personality quickly slipping.

I _couldn't_ go back there...

I turned away from Ed. "I can't believe you would just kick me out like this!"

_Kick me out?_ I repeated in my head. _They'd never agreed to permanently take me anywhere!_

Luckily, Ed fell for the guilt trip. I could hear the small sound that came from the back of his throat as his mouth dropped into a frown, eyes going wide as he kept his hands in front of himself.

"Uh... Well..." He tried to smile. "Maybe Al can explain it better when he gets back..."

"Explain my rejection notice?!" I retorted. "How could you do this?"

"Listen." Ed leaned forward, one arm on his knee. "This is for a long-term good. We're trying to help you."

He added my name, and I relaxed; something about him still saying it that softly when he seemed completely ticked calmed me down. I looked back to my leg, moving my toes again.

"I'll recover really soon." I said. "I'll make—"

Ed called me again as he leaned back. He sighed. "This isn't a negotiation." he told me. "As much as you want it to be. We _can't_ let you stay."

I growled, hand clenching the bedsheets as I made a fist. Ed seemed surprised, focusing on my hand before he looked back to my face. I held his stare for a long time, seeing nothing but subtle interest in those golden eyes.

He looked away.

"I'll talk to Al when he gets back."

Yes!

I grinned for a few solid moments, noticing Ed look over and give that small smile. I hadn't seen that one in a while, come to think of it.

Al opened the door to our hospital room, the motion cautious and quiet. His head perked up, surprised to see I was awake.

"You're up!" he exclaimed.

I nodded, a bit shy as I grinned a little. "Yeah, I'm feeling pretty much all better!"

"Can't really move your leg..." Ed muttered, ignoring my flash of irritation.

As he stepped further into the room, Al looked down to the splinted limb. "You can't?" he repeated. He turned to his brother. "Well, the recovery couldn't take too long, right?"

Ed nodded. "Yeah, probably only a few weeks."

"A few weeks?!" I repeated, swaying a little in worry. "That's horrible!"

Ed opened his mouth to respond when Al suddenly spoke, both hands on his hips.

"That's okay!" he said. "I know you can do it! We'll be back on the road again in no time!"

"Al..." Ed growled.

Al's eyes shrunk, realization hitting him. "Oh. Right. Sorry, force of habit, I suppose."

"Ed!" I brought his focus back to me and watched realization dawn on him as well.

"Oh, yeah." His hand reached to the back of his hair again. "Change of plans, Al."

"Huh?" Al asked.

"Um..." Ed scratched his face with his metal hand, looking away as a light blush came to him. "So..."

Suddenly he was pushing Al out the door. "Can I talk to you for a sec'? Just take a moment." With his back forcing a confused Al out into the hallway, Ed sent me a grin and gave a small wave. "We'll see you in a bit!"

His laughter was incredibly weak and nervous, leaving me to stare at the door as it slammed shut.

I looked back down to my leg, straining to hear their voices from the other side of the wall. But I could only make out clips of sound; broken pieces amidst the buzz of the hospital staff.

Al's voice, however, was the clearest.

"What?" he asked, shocked. "I thought we had to let her go! You were the one that told me that!"

"I... I know... But..." The rest of Ed's voice was overtaken by an intercom speaker. Some announcement I had to strain to try and hear through. I couldn't, and by the time the voice faded away, Ed's had as well.

Silence from both brothers. Then, Al sighed, his breath echoing out from his suit.

"I don't even know what to say..." he said. "What about—"

The heavy sound of wheels cut through his voice, and I heard the shouts of medical staff. People yelling at them about how they couldn't just stand in the hallway.

The door to my room opened, a familiar metal hand holding the knob. "Oh, right." Ed's voice, much clearer now as the hospital bed rolled down the hallway, staff running beside it. "Sorry."

A woman who looked to be around my age gave them a look as she walked past, an air of authority about her. Ed sighed as he stepped back into my room, both hands finding his pockets.

Al followed behind, guiding the door and making sure it closed as quietly as possible. I looked back to Ed, surprised to see a grin on his face.

"So, good news!" he said. "Hurry your butt up and get better, because we're heading out with you as soon as you recover!"

I was ecstatic, bowing forward instantly. "Thank you! I'll get better as soon as I can!"

Ed just smiled at me, and Al suddenly spoke.

"You're feeling better?" he questioned before a sudden embarrassment came to him. "I'm sorry I didn't ask you that before."

I dismissed his apology with a shake of the head, saying how I was feeling alright. Much better than before!

Al nodded, seeming pleased with the answer. "And your hair?"

I remembered suddenly, recalling how Greed was holding me. My hand rose, unconsciously finding the roots he had suspended my body from, and my voice fell in a quiet whisper.

"Yeah, it's fine. Maybe I should cut my hair... So that doesn't happen again..."

"Well..." Ed's voice was a little different; like his lips were pinched together. "It _is_ a lot to cut off..."

I looked up, seeing his stare turned away. Al just smiled at me, eyes perfectly curved. My sight swept back down to my leg again.

"I should be walking around soon..." I mused, and a moment later an idea came to me. "But maybe I should try walking now."

Ed and Al both looked alarmed. "Uh, maybe that's not a good idea..."

I had already shifted out of bed, my toes grazing the floor before I tried to stand, leaning most of my weight on the leg that wasn't hurt. Sounds of panic came from the other side of the room, my name occasionally spoken in fear.

I put more weight on my leg, again having to silence a scream against my lips. It almost felt as bad as when I was trying to activate the transmutation circle on my shoe. Hands were suddenly on each of my shoulders.

"Just relax, alright?"

I looked up, watching Ed guide me back into bed. He pulled away before I was totally settled in, hands finding his pockets again. The worry on his face didn't let up, and I could only grin sheepishly from below.

"Sorry." I said.

He just shook his head and took a step back, thumb hooking out to point behind him.

"I was going to grab some dinner. You want anything?"

I nodded. "Yeah, just take some money out of my bag—" At his snort, I shouted. "DON'T PAY FOR ME WHILE I'M IN THE HOSPITAL!"

"All the more reason I should!" Ed replied cheerily. He shifted around, heading towards the door. "I'll stop by some nice restaurant and pickup their most expensive item. Something classy to go with the hospital food here."

Before I could do more than growl at him, he finished his wave goodbye and closed the door. Immediately, I heard wheels run by again, someone telling him once more to get out of the way.

"Sorry! Geez..."

_____________

  
A few minutes after Ed got back, the doctor showed up. The odd man held open the door as he poked his bald head through, repeating my full name in question.

It was more than a shock, to hear everything like that. I felt like my insides were glass.

I pulled myself back together, answering with a silent nod and smile. The doctor smiled back, giving a quick introduction as he walked up to the foot of my bed. Upon stopping, he turned to the right, looking to Edward.

"May I borrow that chair beside you?" he asked the alchemist.

I glanced towards the seat in question, my heart leaping in fear. Ed's jacket had been resting on it a moment ago along with the bags of food he had brought in. And now... They were nowhere to be seen.

I watched Ed sweep the chair to the doctor with a polite reply. The man thanked him, pulling up the chair and seating himself at the foot of my bed.

"Well, let's see how you're doing!"

He started inspecting my leg, talking about this and that. Things related to the surgery they had done in order to re-attach the muscles. I listened closely, trying to match what I was hearing with my limited medical knowledge. Eventually, I gave up trying to compare, which was right around the time Ed started peering over the doctor's shoulder. A smile twitched onto my face as I watched his head continue to poke over; first the left shoulder, then the right. The doctor remained oblivious, now continuing to inspect my leg in silence.

I watched Ed's golden eyes narrow in playful suspicion, stare turning to the bearded man as he spoke again.

"Well, it seems that recovery is coming along just fine! You should be out in no time!"

"That's so good to hear!" I replied. "Thank you!"

The doctor nodded. "The muscles need a few days or so to heal, but after that we can begin rehabilitation."

My smile fell. "How long will that take?"

"Hmm..." His hand made a gun-like shape as it rested below his chin in thought. The bright smile returned to his face as he spoke, and I saw a similar one on Ed's as well. "Shouldn't take too long! No more than a week, especially with the medication we'll be giving you!"

That sounded a little odd. "What kind of medicine is it?" I asked.

The doctor was standing up when I said this, his movements stopping and a look of surprise coming to him at my question. He lifted a hand in defense. "Oh, no. Just some new developments in pain relievers. Only the good stuff, don't you worry!"

I smiled, relieved as he laughed loudly. Ed stepped away, grinning a little as well as the doctor passed by. Before he had taken no more than a few steps, the doctor looked to my friends.

"Oh, that reminds me. Visiting hours are almost over."

Ed reacted like he had seen this coming. The watch was withdrawn from his pocket, our nation's symbol reflecting off the window's light.

I stared, completely stunned in a mixture of shock and horror as Ed started talking. Saying how I was involved in some _criminal activity_ and I needed to be held for questioning.

The doctor nodded. "Well, alright then. Take all the time you need."

He started away again, and as soon as he turned his back to Ed, the alchemist winked at me. I got the message, my irritation fading: I suppose I _was_ involved in some criminal activity. Even if I wasn't the cause of it.

The doctor suddenly stopped again, and I noticed Ed's face drop into one of pure irritation.

"My, whatever that place down the street is cooking just smells delicious!" The doctor smiled at us. "I just might have to go get something to eat when my break starts."

Ed gave a few horribly fake laughs, waving to him as he followed the door shut. "Yeah, goodbye..."

The alchemist set his back against the door, letting out a sigh. Then his stare trained on me, a mischievous grin on his face. I blinked at him, watching him stride over to Al.

"What're you up to, Ed?"

He just grinned as Al opened the lid of his front plate, revealing the bags of takeout and Ed's jacket. His coat, however, was reduced to a bundle, as if something was being wrapped around it.

My attention was taken as Al smiled, Ed putting his fists on his hips.

"Ha! And that guy thought he was smelling food from outside! Nice response time, Al!"

They slapped each other five, their hands sliding back before fist bumping. Al handed his older brother the food in his body, and I had to look away, feeling my appetite leave me at the sight of Al's hollow insides.

A thought occurred to me. "I don't have to go in for questioning, do I?"

Ed glanced to me as he walked over to my bed, mostly focused on digging the right takeout box out of the bag he was carrying. He shook his head at my question.

"They wouldn't take your testimony." he said, picking one box up and turning it over to see the writing scrawled on it. The carton was returned. "Past relations with those involved."

I heard Al give a low, short giggle and looked over to see his eyes curved in a smile. Like he was laughing to himself... Why would he be laughing?

Ed was blushing a little bit, scowling at the ground as he stopped beside my bed, extending a small white box with chopsticks balancing on top of them.

"Thank you." I took the food with a smile, watching him softly return the expression as he stepped back.

I looked down to the box, picking up the unbroken sticks in between two fingers before opening the food. The smell wafted to me in a burst of pure goodness.

"Ah, thank you so much, Ed!" I was practically drooling.

"Yeah, no problem." Ed fell back into the chair he was sitting in before, popping open his own box.

"Ooh, it looks delicious!" Al swooned beside him.

Ed nodded, agreeing as he pulled noodles into his mouth. "Tastes really good, too."

I suddenly heard the click of a pen and watched Al flip open a small notebook. One filled with a seemingly endless list.

"I'll put it down in my list!" Al was saying.

He had Ed recite the name of the restaurant before turning to me. He showed me the list, seeming proud of himself.

"This is a list of all the things I'm gonna eat when I get my body back!"

My heart almost broke but I smiled through. "That's wonderful, Al! What's on the top of your list?"

"Hmmm..." Pages of the notebook were turned over, his eyes scanning over for a moment before looking up to the ceiling. A finger was tapping his chin, too, and I couldn't help but laugh lightly at how cute he was being.

"Well," he began, oblivious to me, "I guess it'd have to be Winry's apple pie."

The smile on Ed's face flat-lined. He shoveled more food into his mouth, tipping the carton back. I turned back to Al, not wanting to question Ed's behavior.

"It's that good, huh?" I asked the younger Elric.

"Yeah!" Al nodded. "She says she'll have one waiting for us when we get our bodies back!"

His eyes descended downwards, a sadness coming to them before those lights perked up again.

"Oh, and Mrs. Hughes' quiche." His eyes widened, a hunger in them. "I'd really like to try that. The dish is really significant, too; that's the first time Mrs. Hughes' invited us over and the first time we met her and Elicia."

"Oh, yeah." Ed recalled. He was digging around the bottom of his carton with the chopsticks, seeming calmer now. "I forgot about that dish. We had that years ago."

Al nodded. "We should go back and say hi to the Hughes family when we're in Central again."

Ed returned his nod. He tossed his empty carton back into the plastic bag, and I suddenly had a thought.

"You guys found some kind of hotel to stay at, right?" I asked, concerned. Especially about them even being outside the hospital...

"Uh... Well..." Ed was avoiding my gaze again, searching the floor for a moment. "It wouldn't really hurt to stay here; spend the night together and all." He suddenly grew alarmed, and I'm sure my face was just as hot as his was. "NOT LIKE THAT! I mean, y'know, security purposes and all. Make sure everyone's accounted for and safe."

I nodded a little, understanding. I thought back to what had happened in Dublith, tried to shake all the confusion and horror away. I wanted to ask what had happened; Ed did say he could explain when Al got back...

But the elder alchemist was busying himself with testing out his bed for the night. He had moved the chair beside him, propping his feet up and slumping down to create a makeshift mattress.

"Yeah, this would work." he murmured. He suddenly caught my stare, and his expression grew nervous, hands still lifting his body half-way up in mid-test. "I mean, assuming you'd even want us to stay in the same room."

I blinked. "Of course." I returned, a little lost. "Why wouldn't I?" Especially after what happened... I was nervous just having Ed go out to get something for us to _eat_...

The alchemist in front of me was already embarrassed by his own statement, raising a hand to the back of his hair again, grinning as pink dusted his cheeks.

"Yeah, sure! Right!" He busied himself with sweeping the other half of his bed, the other chair, back to its normal position beside him. "Guess I just wasn't thinking!"

I shook my head a little bit, dismissing the apology he didn't need to voice. Ed cleared his throat against his metal fist, stare going to the jacket he had set on the other chair. He'd bundled his coat around something when he came in with the food, and come to think of it, he didn't mention anything about the alcohol he alluded to getting.

It dawned on me just as he unwrapped his coat from the bottle. I was such an idiot! Why didn't I notice before?!

"Ed!" I hissed, my voice a whisper. "This is a HOSPITAL! You can't bring that stuff in here!"

Ed just grinned. His thumb flicked out, uncorking the champagne.

"Ah, c'mon, this stuff is great!" He pulled out a few pricey looking glasses from the bags, pausing to wipe away a spec of food that had jumped out from his carton. "And besides, it's to celebrate you still being with us."

I couldn't fight the deep blush that swept up to my cheeks. He didn't seem to notice, focusing on pouring the two glasses he held in one hand. I held my breath, worried one of the cups would slip and break. Then they _definitely_ wouldn't be allowed here...

Luckily, he kept them both balanced and soon he was leaning forward, handing me a tall glass with bubbling alcohol. I held a sigh down; I'd never been much of a drinker before, but I'd had more with Ed in the past few days than I had... Well, in my entire life. Considering the frequency alone. It hadn't even been more than a few days since we bumped into each other at the station, and already this was my third drink and my second with him. I was a little worried about what it'd be like when he was finally legal...

My focus came back as he finished setting the bottle down beside him and leaned forward, his glass extending out to me. His grin became a bit wider.

"Cheers."

I tapped the edge of his cup with mine, the light clink ringing as I finished the toast.

"To a quick recovery!"


	11. Revealed, Part I

Rehabilitation started almost a week after I first arrived. I felt awful about still keeping them here, but Ed and Al kept dismissing my apologizes. Eventually, they just stopped responding to them, continuing to sit on the floor or in the chairs with their noses in a bunch of books.

Al and I talked a lot, discussing nearly everything from cuisine dishes to which cat breed was the softest/cutest. Ed didn't add in much on that second conversation, but he chimed in a few times whenever we were talking about food. This always led to a conversation about the Hughes family again, and soon Ed and Al were lost in a cloud of memories with grins in their eyes and faces.

When the doctor announced we could try for me walking, I was nervous. I carefully got out of bed, seeing Al watch me from his spot against the wall. Ed had stood up, taking quiet steps towards me with his hands in his pockets.

The doctor was holding my arm, making sure I didn't fall as I began moving the smallest amount of weight onto my leg.

"Now, now, be careful... Don't wanna go too fast, now do we?"

I made a brief sound of agreement in my mouth, stare dropping to my legs. I'd been confined to this sack of a hospital gown for so long, and I missed my normal clothes... I suppressed a sigh, focusing on gradually putting more of my body weight onto my right leg. The muscles felt a little odd, but it made sense; I hadn't used them in a while.

"Looks good so far."

I watched the doctor begin to step away, keeping his hand under my forearm as he called Edward's attention to him.

"Can you keep her steady and have her walk?" he asked the alchemist. "I'd like to take a look and see if her muscles are responding correctly."

Ed just nodded, his fingers replacing the doctor's light ones as soon as the pressure had left. He smiled at me, but I could tell he was just as worried as I was. I kept pushing a light amount of weight on and off of my right foot, trying to balance myself and keep the pressure off of Ed.

From his place crouched beside me, the doctor spoke.

"Now, don't be shy, dear. Unless your leg is hurting, that is!"

"No," I replied quickly. "Not yet, anyway."

I saw a frown move to Ed's lips, guilt coming to my stomach. I set more weight onto my foot, feeling little to no pain.

I grinned, looking down at my own leg. "Hey, it doesn't really hurt!"

"That's good!" the doctor replied. "Now how about we try walking? Mr. Elric, could you do the honors?"

I grinned at him, the formality of his name seeming a little strange. Ed just returned my smile as he stepped in front of me, his other hand carefully supporting my arm as the one that had been holding me came in front of himself. It was a strange way to transfer positions, but then again Ed was kind of a strange guy. A wonderful person, but also a bit strange.

His golden eyes looked up to meet mine as his hand trailed down my outstretched arm. I failed to suppress a few shivers, and soon, his fingers slipped through the spaces of mine, gently holding my hand with his. I could tell from the hardness between my fingers that he was using his automail hand, even if the limb was covered with his usual coat and glove.

He squeezed a little, pressing our palms together with a grin. I noticed the pink tinting his face, and I was sure there was more color than usual in mine as well.

"Alright," the doctor was saying. "Now let's see if you can walk."

Ed held out his other hand, and realizing what he was doing, I took it, our fingers slipping between each other again. It was almost like we were dancing in a way, especially when he gently stepped one foot back; a motion for me to try and follow.

But I didn't move. Was... Was I really seeing that right?

I blinked. I _was_. Ed was definitely taller than me now, at least by a few inches. What... What had happened?! I'd only been here for a week!

He raised one eyebrow at me. "What's wrong? Is your leg hurting?"

I was still a little too lost to really reply. That didn't make any sense. I mean, obviously he's supposed to get taller eventually just given his age, but to grow so much in such a small amount of time?

The doctor called my name, the sound of it shattering my thoughts. I gripped Ed's hands a little harder than I should have, feeling his fingers lightly stretch out away from mine, a shout stifled against his mouth.

"Sorry." I mumbled before looking down at the doctor.

The bald man smiled, his glasses catching the light.

"Let's see if we can take that first step!"

I stuttered out a small reply, looking down at Ed and my feet. I tried to regain myself and ignore the strangeness of Ed's height increase. I felt the alchemist in question squeeze my hands just a little bit more.

Heat rose to my face and I looked up, seeing a soft blush on his as well. Ed glanced away from me, staring down at my right leg.

"C'mon." he coaxed, and a small smile came to him. A grin broke through, but I could tell he was just as worried as I was. "First step. Let's see if we can do it, okay?"

I nodded, smiling a little as well before turning back down. I stimulated my leg, feeling the light tension spread down until it reached my knee and then further passed. I picked my foot up, the muscles underneath and to the side of my shin tensing more than they usually would. Like they were straining, almost.

"Good, good..." the doctor murmured. "A little further, if we can. Let's try and take that first step!"

My eyes were on Edward as I placed the ball of my foot down onto the floor again, a little further than it was before. He looked up, grinning wide again. His hand squeezed mine, echoing his brother's verbal cheer.

* * *

A few days later, I was finally released. It felt great to be back in regular clothes, and even better to be out of my hospital room. Even if I was currently standing in the hallway with Al.

"Ed's not here?" I asked.

"He actually stepped out to go to the rooftop a few minutes ago!" Al said. "We actually didn't think you'd be released today!"

"That's alright!" I responded, dismissing the apology he wasn't saying. My arms came behind my back, hands interlocking as I bent forward, giving myself a light stretch. "Ah, it feels _so_ good to be standing again!"

Al smiled at me. "We can meet Brother on the rooftop, if you want."

I nodded, looking around for the overhead signs to tell me where the staircases were. Al seemed to know what I was thinking of, because he took a step to the left, blocking me from reading the nearest sign. He kept his hands behind him as he spoke.

"Didn't the doctor say to take it easy?"

I blinked, and then gave him a grin. "Oh, right!"

The elevator ride was filled with quiet small talk, a peacefulness that I had grown to feel whenever being around Al. He told me about how one time when he and Ed were traveling, he kept a cat inside his armor. He didn't realize it was pregnant; he just thought it was fat until there was suddenly a litter of kittens crying inside his body. I laughed at this, having a hard time keeping my amusement behind my hand as the elevator stopped and its doors opened.

The early evening light greeted us, the flat rooftop allowing a perfect view of the valley of clouds. As we stepped out of the elevator, I took in a deep breath, gently letting it out. I was glad this was my first real view of the outside in over a week and a half; everything looked beautiful.

Ed turned around as we approached him, shooting me a grin before his hands left the black balcony rail. He jogged over to us, grinning still.

"Hey! I didn't know you were being released now! Sorry I wasn't there."

I smiled back at him. "No, don't worry about it! I can see why you stayed up here; it's beautiful."

I looked at the sky beside us again, seeing Ed take a moment before turning to follow my stare. A soft breeze touched my hair, and I smiled at the feeling. I'd forgotten how much I liked the wind.

I noticed Ed turn back, his focus dropping to my leg.

"So you're walking alright?"

I nodded, picking up my foot and pointing my shoe-covered toes at him. "Good as new!"

"Great!" He laughed a little through his grin. "I'm glad to hear it!"

Silence fell between us again, and naturally my thoughts went back to what I'd been dreading since the date of my release was announced.

I briefly realized I was so deep in thought that I'd been holding myself, my knuckles lightly against my lips.

"What's wrong?"

I looked up, moving my hand away and meeting Ed's concerned stare. Almost instantly, I avoided his gaze, my own dropping back to the ground beside me.

"There's... Something I need to tell both of you." My feet were carrying me away, towards the balcony off to the side. I didn't WANT to walk away like this; I had really planned to tell them like it was a normal, casual thing. But I just kept moving, using my newly healed leg to face away from them, walk until I had my arms resting against the rooftop's railing.

I was such a coward.

I had to face them; I at least had to turn and look at them when I did this. The least I could do is see their expressions when they found out what a liar I was. I forced myself around, holding onto the cool metal bars behind me. My grip tensed when I saw them both standing there, even more worried than before.

"Al..." I began. "When we first spoke on the train, back when we all bumped into each other—" I was stalling; they didn't need this recap. "—I lied to you. I'm not actually a teacher."

I couldn't even say the full position title. How useless, how _weak_ was I?

Al titled his head to the side; I could almost see the question mark above his head.

"Huh?" he asked. "You don't actually teach martial arts?"

I shook my head. Memories began to re-open in my consciousness like a wound beginning to tear apart again. I thought these had healed...

I kept my eyes closed, trying to find a slight comfort in focusing on the side of my finger against my lips.

"No." I replied finally. "I... I quit being a student a few years ago. They..." This was so hard to say... His silhouette kept coming to my mind, and I couldn't stop the tears from falling. "They wanted to make me a higher rank, and I wanted to; I just couldn't do the training they were asking. Emotional work, they called it. Physical, I could handle. Tell me to do this, have me do that; didn't matter what it was. But tell me to look at who I was when no one was around, and I'll run."

I tried to laugh; tried to give a real one. But the sound was broken and cracked, only resulting something of a sob.

I pulled in a breath before continuing on, looking up to them this time. If I was going to clean my slate, I was going to clean it completely.

"I do still draw, Al." I said. "You asked me that on the train the first time we saw each other. I draw for a living, illustrating Alchemy books and sometimes other novels. That school I said I owned doesn't exist."

Al stepped forward, hands crossing below him as he motioned out to me. "But why? Why lie?"

I shrugged and looked away, faking what I could of a smile. I knew exactly why, and it was a reason I didn't want to admit to myself. Revealing everything like this was bad enough. Exposed the real me more than I wanted to—or at least, what I thought was my true self.

_I lied because I hate myself._ The words perched themselves on my tongue, nearly slipping out. _Because I felt like I had to make myself seem better than I really was._

Tears were pouring from me now, painting the concrete beneath my feet with these small little dots. I ran my palms below my eyes, wiping the tears away.

I cry too much. This thought made me sob harder, and once again I felt how weak I truly was. I'd lost track of how many times I've made that realization, how many different ways I've made that discovery. It came all the time, especially when I was living alone. After he left. I would sit at the desk in front of that window, trying to draw those circles with my pencils constantly snapping from the pressure. My tears screwing up the drawings I tried to perfect. Blurring the lines again.

I hated it. I hated myself. Why wouldn't those memories go away? How long did I have to wait?

I had crumbled to my knees by now, and I didn't even notice Ed had fallen to his knees in front of me. I didn't even notice his hands on my shoulders until he clenched one of them a little harder. The cold metal brought me back to reality and I forced myself to pull in a breath. The air caught somewhere along my throat, my mouth open and producing no sound. Just hanging there, in the balance between isolation and foolishness.

He wasn't saying anything. He wasn't even looking at me. My memories of being on the train flashed, both of us in a similar position. Trisha's face came to me, and the emotional wound reopened, guilt bursting out instead of blood.

Ed pulled me into a hug, the motion rough. I knew he was trying hard, trying really hard to get me to shut up. I didn't blame him. These walls were built high, years in the making. It would take a while for all of them to collapse.


	12. Absence & Presence

He left almost two years ago.

It was an October morning when I came home from a light jog, setting my house key down on the kitchen counter. There was something off about the air—the emptiness that comes when a constantly occupied home becomes vacant.

The note was left on the counter, waiting for me when I got back. And I knew why it was there. I knew even before my shaking hand had picked it up, paper folded once in a perfect rectangle. The letter was short. Not even addressing me by name. Just telling me he couldn't do it anymore. Couldn't live with me. That even if I found out where he was, I shouldn't try to contact him, because we were both better off living our lives apart. In just a few sentences and a signature, he had condemned me to that small property with painfully big rooms.

I stayed out my prison sentence, knowing I deserved each second. I had done so many things wrong. I didn't treat him right; and it was best that he left. Better for himself, because he deserved someone so much better. Whoever he ran off with was someone who would treat him with the love I couldn't give.

I loved myself, before this happened. I loved my work, too. I didn't feel this **constant** weight gravitating me towards every floor, every surface. Holding me down until I eventually accepted it as a part of myself. I knew I deserved it, like everything else in my life. I knew I only had myself to blame. I'd hold that knife against myself for the rest of my life.

I wanted to tell them this. I wanted to say all of it. But I couldn't get the words out. I was too weak, completely unable to say anything. Not like any of it mattered. Not like anything I said was really worth the air space.

I had long since collapsed into Ed's embrace. I had no concept of time, no clue how long it had been. I just let that heaviness pour out of me. In tears, in gasps, in sobs with my open mouth against his shoulder. I could tell he hurt when I did this; his arms pulling me against him a little bit more. That just slammed a new wave against me, and eventually I could no longer cry. Just give these weak, pathetic moans against him.

He held me tighter, the side of his head shifting to move against mine. He called my name, softly. It hurt to hear it again, even if it was spoken that gently. Even if it was from Ed and not left out of that note. When I flinched at the sound of it, I could feel Ed's embrace get a tiny bit firmer, his mouth muttering an apology near my ear.

He shifted his head again, and I let myself focus on his presence as a quiet sob skittered through me, shaking out of my throat. I focused on the warmth of his body, the slow deep rhythm of his breathing. Gradually, very gradually, the feeling of him returned me to reality again.

My sobs stopped in my throat, cut down into whimpers as my eyes opened in a squint. My lids stung, the inner skin raw. I could barely make out the darkness around us.

Night time, the rooftop partially brightened by all the lights of the buildings surrounding us. I had cried until the sun had set. Completely wasting their time. A small hiss cracked out of me, a sob racking my body.

"Sorry." I practically mouthed the word, my voice reduced to that of a mouse's. "I'm so sorry..."

Neither of them said anything. Ed just held me a little tighter. I could tell most of his weight had shifted, leaning a good portion onto his left leg. His metal one. I sniffed, moving consciously for the first time in a while and feeling the stiffness in my joints. I drew away from him, slowly putting distance between us. He resisted at first, keeping his arms around me before gently slipping them away, sliding his hands down to rest near my elbows. His eyes rose to meet mine.

A flinch of pain came to my chest as I looked into his eyes. He looked like he was in pain, and I could only figure it was because of how my eyes looked. Probably so red, so inflamed. Like some kind of monster.

He broke eye contact, taking a moment to study what I knew to be all the different lines on my face. I could feel them. Every one. Lines from tears, lines from pressing my face into the folds of his clothes. I blinked, still feeling my eyelids burn as I looked away.

My gaze rose, noticing a large figure in the darkness close behind us. Alphonse was on his knees, and I knew why. I knew why both of them were so broken at my outburst. There was so much pain in the world, and they were powerless against it.

Ed didn't ask about my breakdown. I expected him to at least say something, but he only watched as I brought my hands to my lap. He was still holding my arms, his gentle grip staying still as I clenched my skirt into my fists.

"I just got out of the hospital..." I tried to smile. "And I'm already slowing you down when I promised I wouldn't."

"You're not slowing us down." Ed's voice was incredibly quiet; broken. He looked away, clearing his throat. "If we aren't able to at least help one friend..."

He shook his head, filling the silence his words couldn't. Alphonse softly walked up to us, and sat on his knees beside Ed and I. He kept his stare down, hands in his lap.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm not sure what happened, but I'm sorry it did."

He moved one huge hand, and I realized the offer he wasn't saying aloud. I forced my lungs to hold in a breath, keeping myself from breaking down as I reached out to his hand.

My hand really only wrapped around one of his fingers and most of another. I squeezed, mostly out of habit. Partially out of the idea that he could actually feel it. I watched those big lights curve into a smile.

"We're here for you," Alphonse said, and I felt my heart painfully expand. "I want you to remember that, okay?"

I forced myself to nod, glancing away from his face enough to see the soft smile on Ed's. That one he was always giving me.

I couldn't bring myself to reach up and take his hand in my own, but soon enough I saw his automail hand slide down my arm, fingertips hovering against my wrist. A silent offer. With my heart feeling like it was about to break from all this kindness, I slid my hand back, allowing him to cover the back of my hand with his. The metal fingers wrapped around my palm, still incredibly gentle. I watched, felt, his thumb move along the backs of my fingers and the start of my knuckles in a soft, delicate stroke. Loving.

I felt myself break, nearly cracking half of the wall I was rebuilding again. I forced myself to think about something else, and my mind went back to finding out what had happened to them. How they got the way they were.

"How can you two do this?" I asked, and my voice just sounded so shot. Like my throat had been burned. "How can you still go on?"

Ed took a moment, and when he spoke again, his voice was quiet. He spoke with the same gentleness he'd put into moving his thumb across my hand.

"There's people that make the journey a little less hard."

I looked up, seeing his eyes still on me. Still giving that same smile. I felt like breaking down all over again, but for a different reason this time. I didn't know how to thank them. I didn't have to words to. I could only watch Ed force his expression to be a little bit brighter as I sobbed again. I could only focus on the feeling of his hand gently squeezing mine. A reminder not to worry.


	13. Down This Same Road Again

We had gravitated towards the middle of the rooftop, where there was a bit more light from the surrounding buildings. Maybe they thought I'd jump off the roof, if I was too close to the railing. I wouldn't, of course. I was much too weak to do something so strong.

My legs were shaking, but the more I walked the more my mind came back to me. Enough to realize why we were walking in the first place.

Al still held my right hand, guiding me as he took his gentle, giant steps backwards. Ed had both hands on me; one still clasping my hand, the other supporting the middle of my back. The thoughts that came to me were ones that rang out in their voice, some collective mixture of both.

_"Keep moving forward. You're never alone."_

I nearly crumbled all over again. I stopped when their steps slowed, allowing Al to gradually sit down and move me with him. After a small, tiny squeeze, Al's hand found his lap again. Halfway down to a sitting position, Ed's hands left me too, but almost immediately, a coat was draped over my shoulders.

Warm. I felt the fabric curl against my arms as my knees came to the ground again, much gentler than before. But the joints and the muscles hurt, returning to the same position they'd been in for so long. So I shifted, folding my legs and crossing my shins and feet underneath each other. More relaxed. I felt Ed's coat respond, shaping to the form of my legs and knees. I didn't even realize his hands were still pinching the fabric by my shoulders, still trying to make sure it was on me as much as possible.

I knew I'd never be able to repay this kindness. Nothing could compare to that... Incredible sense of loyalty. I was a horrible friend; I didn't deserve anything they were giving me.

Ed was sitting in front of me again, fixing up the front of the coat and making sure it was completely covering me. His eyes didn't meet mine, and when I looked to them, his stare just moved further away, hands continuing to adjust, slipping down and making sure my ankles and feet were covered as much as they could be.

There was... Something different about the way he was acting. Something about his stare; there was a distance in those eyes, maybe a memory in his brain taking his focus. I wasn't sure how I could decipher that much. Maybe I knew from experience; the hollow feeling that came with thinking about something you didn't want to think of in the first place.

I pulled the jacket around me a bit more, and something about me moving seemed to snap him back to reality.

His eyes swept up to meet mine, and despite how much I wanted to, I couldn't smile. I looked away, focusing on his jacket; the warmth, the slight earthy smell to it. It reminded me of a forest, and I closed my eyes, trying to think of trees surrounding me instead of the desolate emptiness of the rooftop. I tried to imagine them with me as well, but that only forced the pain back in. Inviting it like a very old friend.

My eyes shot open, a sound balancing in between my tongue and the outside air. What exactly, I didn't know. A sob, a wince, a cry. Not that making any more noise would do anything. No _sound_ could take this away.

I almost started to really analyze what _this_ was, my thoughts dripping back into self-hatred and memories of dark rooms void of mirrors. Then Ed leaned forward just a little bit, just enough for me to notice he was there. His hands were on my shoulders again, gently resting and holding my arms. Once more, he looked to be in pain; I could see it underneath the concern.

"Sorry." I tried to speak the word, just mouthing it instead.

He searched my face again, like there would be some answer to solving every problem I thought I had written on my skin. I watched him pull away from me, sitting down beside Al as his hands came to support him from behind. His legs stretched out, probably to stretch the limbs that he'd been supporting both of us with for so long.

Ed broke eye contact again, stare searching around his coat, near my stomach, near the folds around my legs.

"I was five when Mom died," he began. "Al was four. We came in one day, wanting to show her something we'd transmuted, and she was on the floor. A basket had fallen when she collapsed, and... I remember how red the apples were. Like they were showing the blood that hadn't been spilled."

He paused, eyes shutting for a moment. I wondered why he was telling me this. But then I realized, figured it must be something of equivalent exchange. I'd opened up to them, so he was doing the same for me.

Or maybe they wanted to keep my thoughts away from myself. Make me realize how well off I really was.

"After her funeral," Ed's voice shook for a moment, and it hurt. It hurt me to see him like this. "We decided to try and bring her back. We studied, buried our faces in every single book we could find about Alchemy. Poured over every word, and eventually we developed..." His hand, his human one, dragged itself into a fist, and I could tell from the pressure that he was scraping his skin against the concrete. "Something that we thought would bring her back. Actually..." He paused once more, bringing a bit of air into his mouth as if it was suddenly dry. "Get her back, so we could see her smile again."

I didn't want to see him like this. But I still couldn't speak. I held the coat, bringing it around me a bit tighter. This caught Ed's focus again, and I watched his face relax. Like somehow realizing I was with him, whether it was a few feet away or just wrapped inside his coat, brought him to reality again. He looked away, and I listened to him speak. I didn't look to the ground like he was, opting to continue and watch his face. I focused on him, because I felt like I might break all over again if I focused on that darkness around us.

"After... The transmutation, after I bound Al's soul to the armor, we were visited by Mustang." Something of a smile curved onto his face, but I knew it was so forced. "Gave me my first lecture. Told me I couldn't just keep sitting on my ass, that I had to find a way to get our bodies back because if I didn't, everything would be absolutely wasted. So"—He moved a shoulder, his metal one, and the topic clicked—"And one year later, I was a State Alchemist. We had access to a lot of information about alchemy, stuff we wouldn't have been able to get our hands on before."

He paused, eyes moving to Al and letting his younger brother talk. There seemed to be some kind of telepathy going on, with how smooth the transition was between speakers.

"Our main goal was the Philosopher's Stone," Al began, and there was a sadness in his voice. Crushing the normally happy, lighthearted spirit his words always carried. "We searched around in libraries for some time in between Brother doing jobs for the military."

"Eventually," Ed continued, carrying my focus to him again, "We caught wind of some 'savior' in Liore. People were saying he was some kind of miracle worker, but that just ended up being a bust."

I waited for him to continue on, but he let Al take the lead again. Those bright eyes made of light looked to me, and from the corner of my eye I watched his hands move, giving subtle gestures while still not straying too far from the knees tucked to his chest.

"We figured out that he was using a Philosopher's Stone, but it was really just a fake. The town eventually got back onto its feet again, and a few years ago we heard it was doing pretty well!"

I smiled, holding back my praise of "that's good!" I allowed Ed to speak again, my stare turning back to him. I watched him lean back on his hands again, stare going to his outstretched legs.

"So we ran around in circles for a while, eventually breaking into one of Central's laboratories. The one that's been inactive for a long time." He glanced at me, expecting some sort of agreement. But then he grinned. "Oh, wait; that's right. You wouldn't really know about Central City, huh?"

I shot him a look of irritation, seeing that playful grin come to his face. I liked the look of it, especially because I knew how hard it must be for them to re-live everything like this.

I swallowed down my guilt, focusing on Ed as he continued on, voice solemn and soft.

"So we went into the fifth lab, and that's where we found some suits of armor guarding the place."

Panic raised bumps onto my skin, but I held my tongue. Literally, held my tongue in between my teeth. I saw Al's head shift downwards a little bit, a sadness seeming to come to him.

"They... Said some things that weren't true..." Al began, his hand clenching into a fist. "At least, the person I was fighting did." He looked up, looking to me. "He really tried to mess with my head, and I let him. I... Let myself be manipulated like that."

I couldn't respond. An apology was at the edge of my lips, but I turned, just seeing Edward move his upper body forward, sitting up and pulling his legs in toward himself.

"But you eventually snapped out of it, right, Al?" he grinned.

Al nodded, still a bit solemn. A smile curved his eyes as he met his brother's grin. "Yeah," he replied, "I did."

Ed's smile grew a bit softer, turning back to me. "While Al was outside dealing with that idiot"—I didn't miss the way Al's eyes curved a bit more in a silent laugh—"I was inside, kind of getting kicked around by another guard."

Maybe it was the memory of when he was blind; maybe it was just some pathetic attempt to try and go back and change that, rid myself of the guilt, but something about the statement—something about hearing him get hurt again—forced words out of me.

"What happened?! Were you alright?"

Ed nodded a little bit, eyes closing and head tilting to the side. "Yeah, I mean, I didn't get scuffed up too bad. Really it was just..."

His words stopped there, and I saw a distant look in his eyes.

"Ed?"

His stare snapped back to me, and I saw a bead of sweat run along the edge of his eyebrow.

"Uh..." He blinked, and then reality caught up with him. He turned back towards the ground, continuing on. "Right, so my... Uh..." His hand curled, metal fingers gripping the loose fabric of his pants. I noticed the hold become a tad bit tighter—angrier, almost. "My automail slipped up. Got jammed and stopped responding. I ... It really didn't make things easier, but I got out of there alive, so there's that."

I watched him, watching how he kept his eyes constantly away from me. Watching how his hand was shaking. His metal one.

Ed closed his eyes, seeming to really be focusing this time. He stabilized himself, both his hand and his voice.

"While I was there, I came across some Homunculi." His head rose, finally meeting my stare. I hoped he could see how worried I was. "The same one you saw, actually. Envy."

I tried to conceal my surprise, knowing how shocked Ed was at seeing that _thing_ again in Dublith. Everything he said was enough to make me realize they'd been enemies or rivals or at least acquaintances in the past. But I didn't know everything went back _this_ far...

"He told me about some 'project' that was happening. Mentioned me being a sacrifice." He shook his head. "That was the first time I heard myself be referred as one."

"A... Sacrifice?" I repeated.

"Yeah..." He glanced to Al. "We'd be jumping too far ahead if we explained it right now, but the lab got blown up and next thing I knew, I was in a hospital." He grew quiet again, the same type of silence that came when he talked about his automail being broken.

"A few military officials came in and asked us some questions," Al chimed in.

Ed grinned, and I saw the little kid in him. "That's when I did that drawing of Envy!"

I smiled, relieved to finally have context for that. "What happened after?" I asked, a bit more relaxed.

Ed's smile dropped, and I could tell his mind had gone back to whatever had been bothering him before. He looked away from me, pretending to clear his throat with the crook of his metal elbow as Al replied.

"After we told a few people about the guards in the fifth lab, Winry showed up and Brother got his arm repaired."

I didn't miss the way Ed's face clenched in the slightest amount of pain, or the clicks his hand made as it came into another small fist. I didn't know what was happening, but I wanted to see that grin on his face again. I wanted to get that relaxed mood back...

"So how did everyone react," I began, trying to keep myself cheerful, "When you told them about the guards?"

Ed took the bait I had set out, a grin hooking his mouth. "They were pretty freaked, that's for sure! I figured they'd run out of the room screaming, but they stuck around until I was done talking about the Homunculi."

"Homunculi?" I repeated, emphasizing the plural tense.

Ed nodded, a shy grin coming to him. "Uh, yeah. Sorry; there was another one with Envy, but they were both equally freaky." He waved a hand, shooing the topic away. "Anyway, as soon as we were out of the hospital, we kept searching."

"The lab was kind of a dead end?" I asked.

Ed dropped his gaze from me, arms unwrapping from his legs, hands supporting himself from behind again. He focused on his feet as his legs stretched out, his voice painfully quiet.

"We... Figured out how the Stone is made," he said, "Before we broke into the lab. The whole reason we went in there was because we wanted some kind of answer..." His metal hand curled again, scratching against the rooftop's concrete. "Sometimes... I dunno... I..."

He didn't continue. I had an idea of what he wanted to say though. I could hear the guilt, the regret in his voice. I'd be lying if I said I didn't understand the feelings. They were friends to me, almost. Painful, close friends.

But I also knew I couldn't change the mood this time. The air was too thick, too heavy. I could only ask them how the Stone was made.

Ed didn't respond for a long moment, and I saw Al's head raise. His eyes met mine again, but before he could speak, Ed replied. The elder Alchemist brought his head back, eyes shutting to the star-filled night sky. Clenching tight, and he spoke with his voice still a bit broken.

"Stones are created through human sacrifice," he told me. "It just takes enough lives; it's as simple and as terrifying as that."

I searched the ground near my legs for a long moment. I dwelled in the shock, the alarm and the fear of it all. I didn't even think the stone actually _existed_. It had been a legend for so long, and now to hear that fairytale actually become truth. To hear that dream shift into a _nightmare_...

Words failed me. Once again, I didn't know what to say.

So I said nothing. As simple, and as useless, as that was.

I listened, hearing Al talk again. I tried to focus on his words, but I just heard that voice of a child. I felt my heart crack, breaking a little bit more for him. For both of them.

How could they still go on like this?

A memory of something Ed had told me came back, when we were in the street lamp-lit basement after the bomber was taken away.  
  
 _"It'd take too long to explain... Just another recap of more failures from yours truly!"_

How was it even possible for them to continue surviving? For them to even keep _smiling?_

Ed called my name. I looked up, seeing a soft concern on his face.

"We can stop," he said, "If you want to..."

I quickly shook my head, wiping away the tears that had started to spill from my eyes. But I knew they had already seen that I was crying, realized I was this upset about their lives. I didn't know how else to express any of this hurt I felt for them. I didn't know how to take their pain away...

"It's alright," I said, and tried to smile. The corners of my lips quivered, and Ed frowned. "I'm fine. What was it you were saying, Al?"

The teen bound to the metal suit glanced between us, a tiny sound of surprise coming to him. A realization that he was going to continue, I suppose.

"R-right..." Al looked back down, gathering his thoughts again. "So um, after the hospital, we just kept searching. We decided to not look for the Stone anymore, and tried to find some other way to get our bodies back. We were also a little unnerved about the Homunculi, too, so we went and visited Teacher."

"You two mentioned her before..." I said, casting my glance to both of them.

Al nodded. "It was nice to see her again; we hadn't been in contact since Brother became a State Alchemist." His eyes shrunk, a nervousness shaking his suit. "But before we got there... Honestly, we were pretty scared."

Ed quickly flapped his lips, dismissing Al's comment as untrue. "Yeah, maybe you were, Al. I was totally fine! Not a single moment of fear in my mind!"

"Then who was hiding behind me when she came out of her house?" Al returned, a tease in his voice.

Ed's face went red. He looked away again. "Okay, whatever. So we trained with Teacher again, and got a bit stronger."

Al paused, seeming like he wanted to add something. But then he nodded, allowing Ed to continue on.

"And then..." the older alchemist paused for a moment, long enough to swallow down something he wasn't saying. His head turned, hand behind his hair. "While we were still in Dublith, Al kind of got kidnapped."

Al was instantly flustered, bringing his fingertips together as he shrank away a little, eyes wide. "Why do you have to say it so honestly like that?!"

Ed looked to his brother, shoulders giving a casual shrug. "What, it's what happened, isn't it?" A grin broke onto his face. "What do you want me to say instead? You went off on a field trip?"

Al looked away, giving a tiny whine with one hand against his face. I grinned, laughing a little behind my hand. I guess old walls were building again.

"So I tracked him down"—Ed looked at me, interest overtaking his features—"Back to the Devil's Nest, actually."

I had no idea everything was this connected. I resisted the urge to shake my head and start mapping this all out on paper, opting to give a nod and continue listening to Ed.

He looked away, stare moving back down to his feet. Solemn, once more. "And we saw Greed for the first time, too."

I remembered that name. "That was..."

Ed nodded. "Yeah. The bastard that was holding you by the hair." He was quiet, seemingly overtaken by some memory. Probably killing the Homunculus again. I didn't want to know the details of it.

Before I could get him to continue on, Ed shook his head, snapping out of the trance. When he spoke again, his voice was heavy; rough, with a pain that seemed too familiar to me.

"Tried to bargain with us. He actually wanted to trade us the secret of immortality for the 'secret'"—the word hissed out of his mouth—"of human transmutation. Like it was some kind of _cook book_ he couldn't find."

He softly cleared his throat, eyes closing and a deep breath moving through him. Something to calm himself down, I think. When he was better, his eyes opened again, and he kept speaking.

"We didn't take it, of course. Refused to, actually. A ... Uh... A few more things happened"—His stare was shifting to Al nervously, and suddenly he tried to grin at his younger brother—"How much of this does she really need to know?"

Al's eyes grew wide. "You started this!" he said, hands waving in front of him. "Don't make _me_ tell her all the really bad stuff!"

"I... I just don't want to screw up her view of the world! Everything gets _seriously_ messed up from here on out!"

"What...?" I said, completely lost yet again.

Ed sighed, relaxing and his hair falling back into place. He looked to me again, and quickly looked away. "Our government's not what you think it is," he began. His stare quickly shifted upwards, half of one eye clenching in thought. "Er— _wasn't_ what you thought it was. It's better now, 'specially since Mustang's almost to power." He relaxed and waved a hand, then suddenly looked to me again. "Don't tell him I said that."

I nodded, smiling a little. I held up two crossed fingers. "Secret's safe with me."

Ed returned the soft expression, nodding before continuing on. "So..." He grew solemn again, arms dangling from his crossed legs, metal knuckle of one finger scratching at the pavement. The rhythm stopped, and he looked up.

"King Bradley wasn't human," he began, but stopped instantly upon seeing how my hair stood up from the shock, how my hands rose to cover my mouth.

"Y-you're not saying he was...?" I couldn't even _voice_ the word.

With one hand covering his mouth, Ed swept his half-lidded stare over to Al. I could almost see his thoughts as words next to him: _I tried..._

Al tried to smile; he tried to laugh a little, too. "Well, technically he was _born_ human, but he was selected to become a Homunculus and rise to power as our fuhrer."

"One of the ways Homunculi are created is through injections of Philosopher's Stones," Edward said, bringing my focus over to him again. "He was bred for the task, and that's how he got to where he was."

I paused, not wanting to voice my thoughts. I... I didn't even want to know... But something inside me took over my tongue.

"What..." I shifted my stare between them both, "What happened to him?" I asked. "Why..." I forced myself to keep speaking, but maybe I was just stalling. I shook my head. "I knew he passed away, or at least that's what they said on the news..."

"Not sure you'd put it as peacefully as that, but I guess technically he did," Ed replied, a little thoughtful. His head was tilted, stare on the ground between us. He grinned, the expression bashful. "You mind waiting a little bit? If we told you now, this whole thing would just get even more confusing."

I nodded, unable to ease the knots in my gut. I knew someone else had taken power after the fuhrer... left... but I had no clue—I never would've even guessed he was tied into all this mess...

"So Greed ran off," Ed continued, "And Bradley cut him up pretty bad. Killed him, actually..."

I turned my stare over to Al when he spoke, noticing how low the lights of his eyes were. Even though he couldn't express very much, I... thought that... maybe...

The depression I thought had I felt suddenly fled, another emotion taking its place and lifting Al's eyes back up.

"Brother ended up in the hospital again."

Ed jumped a little bit, hair sticking up from the shock. "Why you gotta say it like that?!"

"Why were you in the hospital?!" I asked, hands in my hair. "What did you _do?!_ "

"I..." Ed tried to defend himself, one hand held out to me. Then his expression changed; a dumbstruck grin knocking onto his face. "Yeah, I got dinged up pretty bad by Greed, but don't worry about it!" He gathered his legs in his arms again as he said this, waving a hand to me before interlocking his fingers around his wrist. He noticed my expression then; how the alarm had given way to a type of sadness. He sighed, stare drifting away to one side. "I'm fine now, aren't I?"

"Yeah..." I sighed. I stared at the space between us, wondering why he couldn't heal before. What had changed...?

My stare went up, noticing the scars on his human arm. I'd seen glimpses of them when they had hung around the hospital room and he'd had his coat off, but I never stared long enough to really study any of them. Right now, the small lines were a little more visible, given the streetlights and Ed's proximity to where the light was shining. There were a lot, mainly on his shoulder and upper arm. Mostly just cuts of varying depths, but I noticed some that looked like burn marks as well. I... Recognized those, actually.

Ed looked to his shoulder, twisting a little; enough to try and follow my stare. I just kept thinking... Trying to figure this all out...

"What're you lookin' at?" he asked me quietly, and my name... Seemed so out of place in his mouth.

I tried to shove away the feelings that word brought me, closing my eyes for a moment before opening them again. Studying his shoulder and all those scars along his skin.

"Why did the scars heal," I began, "The ones you got when..." I couldn't finish my sentence. I didn't want to think about those muscles being ripped out of him again.

Ed seemed to know where I was going. He relaxed, hand returning to support him from behind as he looked down to his outstretched legs. Thought came in between his brows.

"I'm not sure." He shook his head, eyes closing. When they opened and that bright stare looked to me again, his eyes actually curved into a smile, a grin hooking one side of his mouth. "I guess that's something I really can't answer!"

I just shook my head, my mind still running in circles. Thinking about how his sight was restored without even taking anything; how the spikes he had driven into Greed a week ago _adapted_ to pierce through that strange armor.

There were so many questions, and I hadn't even formed a hypothesis for one of them.

Before my chest could sink any lower, before my heart could drag back down and crash through the walls I was slowly rebuilding, Ed was scooting towards me—actually _scooting_ up to me with quick little drags of his heels against the ground. The quiet smile on his face was enough to make me laugh a little, barely concealed by my hand.

He closed the distance between us relatively fast, and I don't know why I expected him to reach out to me again. Twice was probably enough.

We stayed like that for a few moments, sitting close enough for our knees to touch. And when he did nothing but stare and give that small smile, my posture straightened, not quiet becoming eye level with him. Once again, I mentally shook my head at the strange change in height. Another hypothesis I hadn't formed.

My stare shifted, flicking to his eyes and then the lips that were still curved in a small, kid-like smile. I briefly realized the curled side of my hand was still against my own lips, and I lowered my arm back down, resolving that he must have just gotten annoyed with my horrible habits. But he still didn't move, and I felt a smile creep onto my face because HE just kept smiling. What was he _doing?_

Suddenly, Ed pushed himself away. "Good; you're smiling again."

Al laughed; a quiet but full giggle that echoed out from his suit more than usual. A tension breaker for all of us, I suppose. I grinned a little more, happy that they were happy.

"So, yeah," Ed grinned wide, leaning back on his forearms now, "I wound up in the hospital"—One finger rose, pointed somewhere between Al and the sky above—" _Which_ was the first time we got suspicious of Bradley."

"The..." I wanted to call him what he _was_ , but I couldn't even get the _word_ out. It was just too creepy‼

Ed nodded, understanding what I didn't say. Al continued on, recalling the memory in a thoughtful voice.

"He basically told us to stay out of the way, that we 'should be careful which paths we tread'." The helmet creaked as he quickly shook his head, eyes closing. "I don't even have a spine and I feel like I have shivers running down it just saying that again!"

"Why did he want you guys to stay away," I asked, shifting my gaze between them, "And from what?"

"At the time, we didn't really know," Ed replied, rolling himself up to sit normally again. "But eventually we figured out he was trying to f"—His wide eyed stare swept to Al, syllable stretching out before he nodded—"F _razzle_. Frazzle our psyche."

Another joke. I laughed behind my hand, trying to ignore the tension in my gut. If Ed was doing this much to keep us smiling, whatever was coming up must be pretty bad...

He was still trying to defend himself, hands up and directed at Al's playfully astonished expression.

"What? I said _frazzle!_ Get your mind out of the gutter, Al, geez!"

He huffed a sigh, pretending to ignore how much Al and I were laughing.

" _Anyway_ ," he began, and then waited for us to calm down with a crooked grin. When we finally did, he continued on.

"He was trying to get us distracted. Question why he would barge in and say something like that; why he would tell us that just after we had found out Homunculi were real." Ed shook his head, giving a sigh. "And really, it kind of worked. We were really tripped up for a while, but there's wasn't a whole lot we could do about it." Ed paused, studying the ground between us again.

"This whole thing gets pretty messy from here on out," he said, "But the basics of it is this: Bradley was one of seven Homunculi, each one created by a... Wanna-be entity called Father."

I mouthed the phrase; wanna-be entity. I stored it away in the back of my mind, continuing to listen.

"Father was a... An experiment. The product of someone getting into something they shouldn't have, I guess. I never found out the whole story on that, but one thing led to another and a _lot_ of people got taken away."

My brows jumped; I hadn't expected that last part.

"Taken away?" I repeated.

Ed nodded, seeming to be thinking hard with one eye closed. "Easiest way to explain it, but even then it probably doesn't make much sense, huh?"

I shook my head. He exchanged a look with Al, and there was something in the air. Some _feeling_ or _thought_ I couldn't figure out.

"He basically created a Philosopher's Stone," Ed told me. "Using... Our..." His face drew into a horrible expression; one that looked like he had just ate something awful. " _Eck!_ I can't even say it!"

Al sighed. "Dad. Using our Dad."

"Not Father," I said.

"No," Ed replied, seeming almost peeved from the mention of whoever this was. "Not Father."

I was still trying to figure it out. "But it's your Dad," I said with a slight question in my voice.

"Yes." One corner of Ed's mouth drew upwards in a small smile, and I couldn't help but copy him. "Father created a Stone using our Dad."

Two different people. I nodded a little to myself, and then the engine of my mind suddenly stuttered to a halt. "Wait, WHAT?!"

Al smiled. "This might take some explaining."

Ed bowed his head forward in defeat. "You know the whole story, Al, but does it _really_ matter?" I'd never heard him whine like this.

"You just don't want to talk about him!" Al protest, arms waving in the air. "When's the last time you two even spoke?"

Ed made a sound with his teeth, rolling his eyes. "I'll send him a postcard next time I think about it"—His hands rose to his face, mock surprise written all over his features—"Oh wait, that's right; _we don't know where he is!_ "

"We know he's somewhere in Creta!"

"Ch'yeah. So he _says,_ " Ed scoffed, turning away. "He could be in _space_ for all we know‼"

"He'll come back for us," Al said, looking in the opposite direction. "He always does."

Ed raised one eyebrow, continuing to look away. "You wanna rephrase that, Al?"

Al's eyes shrunk, a little nervous. "O-okay. _Almost_ always." He turned back to Ed, who looked over just enough to meet his stare with squinted eyes and a frown. "For what it's worth, he came back to help when we needed it later on."

The legs Ed had bent dropped to the side, elbows coming to rest on knees and hands folding at his mouth. He smiled at me, but the expression was incredibly _painfully_ polite. They were trying hard not to fight in front of me, and right now he was trying to apologize for both of them. I just felt like I should be the one saying sorry; making them re-live everything like this...

"Wait," Ed suddenly straightened, looking back to Al. "I lost my train of thought; how'd we get to talking about that bastard again?"

Al sighed, but the sound quickly became a groan. "Homunculi..."

"Oh," Ed's eyes went wide, remembering. "Right. Homunculi." He grinned at me, holding his ankles and rocking a little in place. "Eight in total—seven Sins and one Father, who was their creator, not Hohenheim."

"Our Dad," Al clarified in a sigh.

Ed waited for my confirming nod, and I gave it. It was simple enough. Kind of. He continued on.

"Father's entire goal was to become God. And to do that he needed five sacrifices. Al and I were two of them."

"The same sacrifices the other Homunculi were talking about," Once again, there was a small question in my voice.

Ed nodded. "Yeah, back at the fifth lab; same thing." He avoided my gaze suddenly, hand coming to his hair, one finger scratching the back absentmindedly. "The project they were talking about; that was basically world domination."

I almost wanted to let out a small moan from the back of my throat; not only was this so confusing, it was really starting to warp my view of the government. I guess this was what Ed must have been talking about when he said he didn't want to really screw up my view of the world...

Ed noticed my expression; how my mouth was in a slight frown, open enough to expose clenched teeth. He grinned, laughing enough to throw his head back.

"Yeah, that's what I was trying to warn Al about," he said. His stare dropped to the ground again, and he focused on the space right in front of his folded legs. His finger began tapping different spots as he spoke, like they were points on a timeline. "Where were we? Dublith, Bradley, hospital... Oh yeah!" His head rose, the hook of his hair bouncing for a moment. "After I got released, Al and I kept searching for another way to restore our bodies. We followed a few dud leads, things that were really just whispered rumors."

"One of them brought us over to Meox, where we met Ling!" Al added happily.

"Ah, _Ling_ ," Ed added with a huge grin, "That crazy bastard!" The smile suddenly broke, and I imagined the sound of glass cracking. "He's never paid me back for a single meal..."

Al's eyes curved, a quiet laugh coming to him. "He did help us out a lot, Brother," he said.

Ed scratched the back of his hair. "Ah, yeah. Guess you're right. So many room service bills, though." He sighed. Finally, his focus turned back to me, and he began explaining. "Ling's a friend of ours. He came over here from Xing, wanting to research the Stone."

"The Philosopher's Stone?" I couldn't keep my mouth shut; it really wasn't a question that needed to be asked.

Ed was kind enough to nod anyway. "Yeah. I told him the truth about it, but he was still determined to find the secret of immortality. So he tagged along with us, bringing his ninja servants or whatever 'cause he was a Prince." His hand waved, dismissing the idea. "It was frankly pretty annoying, but the real trouble started when we came across Scar again."

"Scar?" I repeated.

Al nodded, and Ed filled me in. "Basically bad guy turned good."

"Basically?!" Al repeated, and I could tell by the way he had his hands up to his mouth he was playing around. "He tried to kill you, Brother—more than once!"

Ed paused, then looked away from his younger brother's wide eyes. He didn't really have time to reply before I was shouting again, completely worried.

"Why was he trying to KILL you?!"

"Would you STOP worrying about me?!" Ed returned, waving his arms with a scowl and a small blush.

I waited until he'd calmed down, realizing I had a small smile on my face. A grin hooked onto his lips and he turned away with a slight laugh, realizing my joke. But it still wasn't very funny.

"Why was he trying to kill you?" I asked, much softer this time.

"Um, well..." Ed gave me another grin; much more sheepish than before. "He was basically after all State Alchemists, given their role in the Ishvalen war and all. Nothing _totally_ personal against me, unless you count the whole 'atone for your Human Transmutation sins' thing. Then, yeah the guy had a pretty big grudge. Um"—He looked away again, and then after a moment, he sighed, expression falling—"We had ran into him before. Kind of literally, too. Thought it was best not to mention what happened..."

"What are you talking about?" I asked quietly, feeling a deep fear rise in my gut. "Mention what?"

Ed looked to Al again, a moment passing before their eye contact broke.

"It's really nothing you need to know," the elder Alchemist said quietly. Another long pause, and I could tell he was struggling. His eyes shut again. "I ..." He sighed, and just the sound sent a harsh weight into my stomach; the fear plummeting into sadness. Ed kept speaking, his voice soft. "Basically someone close to us died. Became an experiment because her father was an absolute psychopath. Scar killed them both."

Once again, words left me. Thoughts failed to form in my brain. I could only listen to Ed's voice, listen to him continue on.

"That happened a few years back, before we met Ling," he said. I could hear the regret in his voice; how he really didn't want to tell me anything about the girl. I understood why; I knew why he had held that detail back. My brain was still stuck a few moments in the past. Still trying to wrap my head around it all.

My self-hatred became a little deeper, cutting into me a little more. I was so _stupid_ ; why did I even press? Why couldn't I just keep my mouth shut?

I wanted to apologize, but my lips never parted to speak the words. I heard Al's helmet shift like he was looking towards me, and I felt my walls start building again. Becoming a little thicker. Calming myself down enough for the tears to disappear before they broke from my eyes.

I looked up, seeing Al's eyes on me and Ed's turned away. One arm propped against his leg, fist covering his mouth.

"Sorry," I said to both of them. "You can keep going."

Ed looked to me, still keeping his hand by his face. He searched my expression, and I did my best to hold a small smile. See, Ed? Still smiling; nothing to worry about.

Finally, his stare dropped, and with a sigh he straightened his posture, arm falling back to his lap.

"So Scar came after me again," he began, "and Ling almost got hurt, trying to help. His bodyguard, Lan Fan, protected him, but she lost an arm in the fight." He bowed forward, sides of his fingers coming to run along closed eyelids. "We were in a pretty tight spot, and that's around the time Lust and Gluttony showed up."

Gluttony. That name _almost_ sounded familiar. I thought back to Dublith, back to that room Al was chained up in. There had been another Homunculus there, fat and round and drooling on himself. I thought forward, to what Edward had said about each one being a Sin.

My stare rose to the Alchemist in front of me. "Gluttony was..."

He nodded, smiling a little. Like a congratulations. "Yeah, that was the one we saw in Dublith."

I tried to ignore the use of the word "was". The chills shivered into my stomach anyway and I brought my stare down my lap, where my hands were resting near each other. Ed's coat was still wrapped around me, still seeming to be radiating the same amount of heat that it had been when he first placed it over my shoulders. The weather was warm, considering how it was in the middle of summer, but I wasn't about to take it off. It was a barrier, keeping me away from that edge again.

Just from remembering how they held both of my hands, how kindly they spoke to me, butterflies warmed my stomach. But I couldn't focus on myself, couldn't be this selfish when they were waiting for me to say something so they could get this over with and continue on. So I forced myself to keep thinking.

Lust was another one of Father's Homunculi, but what had happened to it? What had happened to Gluttony the first time?

"So what happened?" I asked, looking back to them both.

"They needed to keep Al and I alive for the sacrifices," Ed answered, "even if that meant protecting us."

"We got away fairly quickly," Al continued on. "And Lan Fan got help from a doctor we knew. A friend of Winry's parents, actually."

I immediately felt guilt tie my stomach. I had completely forgotten to ask them how Winry's parents were doing. Before I could, Ed's voice caught my focus.

"Her parents passed away," he told me, my name sounding so delicate coming from him. "They were murdered in the war. By Scar, actually..." His eyes closed, a sigh drifting from him. "We found out a little while after we met Ling, when Scar showed up again. She was there, too..."

"Winry?" I asked.

He nodded, eyes opening to stare at the ground. I saw that tiredness again, the same fatigue I had noticed upon waking up in the hospital. Before I could even think about trying to give some weak attempt at comfort, Ed cleared his throat, straightening his posture a little.

"She left after Lan Fan got hurt," he said quietly, his voice a little distant. He blinked, continuing to avoid my gaze. "So while we were making sure she was alright, Scar showed up again"—He tried to give me a grin—"still hell-bent on his revenge."

"May was with him, too!" Al added.

I looked over to him, surprised at how happy he sounded. "Was she…?"

Al quickly shook his head. "No, May was just traveling with him. She's from Xing, and wanted a way to save her clan from extinction. She was tagging along with Scar because she wanted to find Brother, too." He smiled at me, giving a small laugh. "Completely opposite reasons! She had a crush on him—until she realized how short he was."

The frown on Ed's face was enough to almost make me fall over from laughing so hard. He tsked, looking away.

"She was a little brat, anyway," he said, only to get clocked in the head by Al's fist.

"May is a very intelligent person!" Al replied, ignoring the tears streaming down his brother's face.

Ed continued to hold the lump on his head with both hands, remaining hunched over. " _Was!_ " he repeated. "I said _was!_ "

With an amused smile still curving my lips, I watched Al's eyes silently narrow. He turned back to me, giving a smile and continuing on with the story.

"So, _anyway,_ " he said, "Gluttony became very crazy when he saw Scar, since he had killed Lust. Envy was there, too, the same Homunculus you saw in Dublith"—I gave my best nod, trying to keep the confusion away from my face—"And he tried to calm Gluttony down." Al gave a small laugh, trying to remain cheerful. "But it didn't really work, and he…" Al paused, then turned to Edward again. "How would you describe what happened?"

Ed pulled his cheek into his mouth, thinking hard. "It'd take some time to really explain it," he said, tilting his head to one side, "But the basics is… Gluttony was kind of a portal gone wrong."

As much as I wanted to ask what he meant by that, I waited, listening as he thought for a moment. His hands came to hold his ankles again and he rocked in place, small motions stopping when he looked up again.

"I really don't want to confuse you anymore than I have to," he said with a small grin, "But in the simplest of terms, Scar, Envy, and I were transported into Gluttony's stomach, and it was place we couldn't get out of at first." He paused, then nodded. "Yeah, that'd be the simplest way to say it."

"So you were stuck?" I said.

Ed nodded again, quicker this time. "Yeah, that's right!" He gave a small laugh, one hand bashfully raising to the back of his hair. "We had May's pet panda with us, too. And Al's arm, so we really had a party going on."

"How did you get out?" I asked, completely stunned.

Ed laughed again, still seeming nervous as he held up a hand. "Well, first off it took some time to get Scar to calm down. We agreed on a treaty; he could try to kill me after we were out of this mess." I didn't laugh at the joke, and he gently cleared his throat, smile dropping away. His hand fell also, a fist coming to prop up his jaw. "While we were in there, thinking we were about to die, Scar noticed some giant ruins floating around in Gluttony's stomach. Told me they were from Xerxes."

"Ancient Xerxes?" I returned.

He nodded. "That's when I really started thinking about who this 'Father' guy was. Wondering if he was the reason behind that entire civilization being wiped out."

I started to connect the pieces, slowly speaking the thoughts as they formed. "Because it takes lives to make a Stone..."

"Yeah," Ed replied. "So when I was studying these ruins, I got the idea to perform a reverse human transmutation. Transmuting living humans without changing anything." He sighed, and his voice became even softer. "We used one of Envy's stones as payment, trading out all those lives to save our own." He shook his head, like he didn't want to think about it anymore. "So we were able to go back, and when we came to, we saw Father."

"Gluttony was pretty upset about what he did," Al said, "So May and I followed him to where Father was."

Ed paused for a moment, seeming to be searching through his own thoughts, trying to pick out the most important bits.

"Ling wanted to become a Homunculus," he told me, and the chill that shot down my spine was enough to literally make the hair on my head stand straight up. Ed just nodded, understanding. "I tackled him and clocked his face pretty good." He glanced to my expression, still frozen in horror, and then shrugged. "So we got in a little scuffle"—He tried to grin—"Which in hindsight wasn't the best thing to do, given the circumstances."

"Ling was definitely a handful," Al agreed, "Even when we were all out of there. We talked to him for a long while because he still wanted to go back and become a Homunculus."

"Why would he want to do that?" I asked. Then the answer clicked; the conversation they'd had with Greed. He wanted to trade them the secret of immortality...

Ed nodded, seeing the expression on my face. "Yeah, Ling wanted the secret of immortality." He sighed, upper-body bowing forward and his hand coming to his face. "Even after Scar had backed down to heal the injuries he'd gotten from Father, and even when we getting May treated for _her_ injuries"—He glanced up, like he knew I was wearing a face of worry—"Nothing too serious. Everything healed fine." He sat up again, hand falling away. "Ling just wouldn't shut up. He tried to run back to where Father was and had his bodyguard, Fu, keep Al and I stalled."

"I created a distraction," Al smiled, "And Brother slipped passed him."

"Restrained Ling pretty good," Ed added, "And while he was tied up with the ground, he was shouting at me that I didn't know what the hell I was stopping him from doing." He brought his hands to his face, sides of his fingers coming to run along closed eyelids. When he spoke again, his voice was tired. And I felt guilt stir in my stomach; he was having to stay awake, trying to explain all this to me... "I told him that becoming one of them wouldn't do any good. It'd just throw his life away. Make him completely unstable and unfit to run a country. I promised him that there was another way."

"Was there?" I asked in a near whisper, eyes searching his face as he lowered his hands.

He looked up, holding my stare. A soft smile curving his lips.

"Always is," he said.

I found a similar smile making its way onto my face, a warmth blossoming in my heart, the space behind my chest. A dash of pink touched Ed's cheeks and he looked away, still keeping that smile before he turned to Al, grinning wide.

"And I'm really glad he took what I said to heart!" Ed exclaimed. "I mean, who knows what would've happened if he actually became one of those." This was followed by light laughter; mostly nervous, uncertain laughter.

"Y-yeah!" Al said, seeming to be equally unnerved by the idea. "That would've been pretty bad. I'm glad you were able to convince him otherwise, too."

Ed nodded, relaxing with a small breath out through his nose. He kept that same small smile on his face as his hand rose to his hair, eyes shutting as a silence came between the three of us.

"Let's see... What else is important..." he mulled aloud. His eyes opened and that gold stare dropped to the ground again, like he was looking at that invisible timeline. He pointed to a spot, near his right side. "Ended up in Briggs, where we tried to deal with Sloth..." His finger tapped the concrete a few times before sweeping over to one spot and hovering there. Quickly, he continued on, seeming to reach the end of the timeline. "Really, nothing absolutely major happened until the Promised Day."

I noticed Al keep his stare on Ed, hesitating for a split second before nodding once. He didn't say anything, and I felt a heaviness pool into my gut, wiping away whatever warmth that had been there before. I had no idea what had Ed just skipped over, and something inside me was scared to know.

I focused, seeing Ed nod to himself, looking over at the timeline again. Confirming it, I think. He looked to me again. "Yeah, the Promised Day is pretty much our last section."

I forced myself to not repeat him, looking over to Al as the younger Elric spoke. He tried to laugh a little bit, pointing a finger at me. "Okay," he said, trying to make light of everything, "If your brain's twisted now, just wait 'til you hear _this!_ "

I smiled at this, grinning and holding down a laugh. I saw Ed smile as well, and Al continued on. Telling me about a giant transmutation circle that had been set up around our nation, and how the Promised Day was basically Dooms Day - when everyone in Amestris was supposed to be used as Father's power source for him to achieve the status of "God".

"In order to get that circle activated," Ed continued on, his voice solemn and soft, "Father needed five sacrifices, one for each point in the transmutation's inner hexagon. Al and I were two—"

"—Teacher and Dad were another—" Al added.

"And one of Ling's servants was the fifth."

"And you become a sacrifice how?" I asked, trying to wrap my head around all of this.

Another look was exchanged between the two brothers. Al was the first to answer me.

"So," he stretched the word out, like he was trying to gather his thoughts, "The requirement for being a sacrifice is basically performing human transmutation."

I sat up a little more, shocked. "Your Dad... And your teacher...?"

"With Dad, it's a little more complicated," Al said, giving a small smile. "But with Teacher, yes. Unfortunately, she did." The smile dropped, those lights descending downwards. "With Ling and Fu..."

"We… didn't see it happen," Ed began softly. He was looking down at his feet, avoiding my stare. "We just heard Ling talk about it after the fact. How he begged through mouthfuls of his own blood"—His eyes shut tight, like he shouldn't have mentioned that detail—"For Fu not to sacrifice himself. It was falling into the enemies' hands, but..." He shrugged one shoulder; his metal one. "Fu couldn't do it. Ling was saved, and Fu lost both arms."

"Because of the transmutation?" My voice was distant, even to myself.

I had enough of my brain focused to see Ed nod silently. "So Fu became a sacrifice," he continued on, "And the transmutation circle Father had set up around Amestris was activated." He moved his head in Al's direction, eyes closing for a moment. "Before it was, though, May and Al had gone off in search of the closest circle. May could sense the presence of one; said something about it having bad energy."

Al spoke then, his voice almost like a relieved sigh. "May and I got there just in time, just as the nearest circle was lighting up. She drew a line through the mark"—He held the hilt of an invisible knife and dragged it backwards—"and it was just enough for the transmutation to result in a rebound."

Ed nodded a few times, and I think he was stressed just talking about this again. He swallowed before speaking, his voice shaking a little bit.

"Yeah," he said, "Definitely a close call."

"So what did the rebound do?" I asked, leaning over to rest my chin in my hand, my stare shifting between them. "It would've bounced to Father, right?"

Al nodded, and Ed replied to me.

"He just..." Ed raised his hand, fingers expanding as if making a small explosion. "Disappeared. Went away without a warning."

"He just went away?" I asked needlessly, completely stunned.

The Alchemist nodded. "The transmutation was screwed up enough for everything to result in a rebound, like you said. Whatever happened, I really hope he got his ass handed to him in the Gate."

I had no clue what he was talking about, but I guess being in that "gate" was bad enough punishment.

Ed moved a hand into his hair, eyes closing to rid the horrible scowl that had twisted onto his face.

"So after that, we dealt with the remaining Homunculi"—his head nodded to one side as he corrected himself—"Hohenheim did, actually. Made sure their stones were detached from their bodies. I did what I could to help keep Ling and Fu alive."

"There were a few more Homunculi that came after May and I," Al said. "And dealing with them was a little tricky, but eventually we got everything taken care of."

That phrase just made me think of what Ed had told me after I woke up; how he had "taken care" of Greed. Had Al...?

The younger Elric must have seen my expression because his eyes went wide and he quickly waved his hands. "N-n-no! I-I would never! Envy... Went out on his own..." Even then, there was a sadness in his voice...

"O-okay," I began. "What happened after?"

"I healed Fu and Ling," Edward said. He quickly shook his head. "Not in the way you're thinking of. Just sealed the wounds with Alchemy. After that..." He looked to Al again, who met his stare. Ed shrugged a little. "Things just kind of went back to normal, I guess. One of Bradley's fallen henchmen, Kimblee, had a Philosopher's Stone on him, so Ling took it and decided to go back to Xing; claim his place as Emperor. Took May with him"—I didn't miss how Al's eyes curved in a smile, just at the sound of her name—"And her clan was helped out."

He paused there, and that left one person on my mind. I searched Ed's face, my stare traveling to Al as well.

"And... And Scar?" I asked hesitantly.

Interested perked into Ed's expression, eyes meeting mine again. He answered quickly, leaning forward, gathering his legs with his arms.

"Yeah, he's alright," the Alchemist assured me. "Don't worry about it; actually became a monk again, after the whole thing with Father happened. He's traveling around the world with another Ishvalen. Rebuilding their religion and keeping the culture alive."

My mind left me. I tried to connect the pieces he just set out. "He... He was a monk?"

Ed grinned, like he was about to laugh at some joke I had just told. "Yeah," he said, the laughter riding underneath his words. "And he became one again. Full circle."

"Oh." I tried to shake my head, tried to get rid of the headache that was throbbing against my brain. "Okay." A few more words left me, an absentminded "Glad to hear it."

I thought back, rewinding and tracing through everything they had told me. But my mind quickly stopped about halfway through, and a heavy weight set into my throat.

"The fuhrer," I said, looking up to them again. "The new one... What about... Is he...?"

Both of them quickly shook their head. Ed was the first to say something.

"He's okay. We did"—Another grin stretched onto his face, a light concern in his eyes—"A lot of snooping, actually. More than I wanna elaborate on. Just trust me when I say he's not a Homunculus. He's just a normal guy, who's spent a lot of time trying to make peace with Drachma."

"But..." I tried to breathe, tried to get my brain working fast enough. I blinked at the ground before shaking my head. "What about everyone else? If... Bradley was..."

"As far as we know, Kimblee was the only one working with Bradley," Al said. "He's gone now, and we've done as much snooping as we can without arousing suspicion. We're pretty sure everyone's safe."

I tried to take his words to heart. I focused on calming myself down, looking over to Ed as he leaned back on his hands again. Listening to his words and focusing on his voice; the relaxed tone. Calm. Like how I needed to be right now.

"They've been promoting Mustang too, so I'm pretty sure that's a good sign. He's all buddy-buddy ass-kissing the Fuhrer now."

I almost felt a smile twitch onto my face, but another thought caught my focus.

"He doesn't know anything about this?" I asked quietly. My mind was beginning to pull me back, bring up a memory of the last time I'd seen Mustang.

Ed shook his head. "No. We've never told him anything about it."

The Brigadier General's words rang out in my mind: _"There's rumors of a Philosopher's Stone in Dublith. Figure you two would be interested."_  
  
He... didn't even know about the Stone...

"Why?" I asked, looking up to them both. "Why keep it from everyone?"

Ed didn't answer right away. Al remained quiet as well, looking down at his lap. The stillness stretched on, and my gut just got even smaller.

"There's... This feeling I get," Ed said quietly, and a breeze blew through us. Sweeping my hair in front of my eyes, tendrils moving across the image of him, momentarily hiding Ed away. When the wind died down, I saw him finish shaking his head, continuing to look down. Speak quietly.

"It's not fear," he continued. "It's..." His eyes searched the concrete, sweeping along that timeline, nearing the beginning of it all before looking up to meet my stare.

"Protection." The word fell from him, spoken softly but with an incredible amount of confidence. "I... I can feel that there's people I need to protect. And in order to do that, we have to keep everything a secret." He looked away, swallowing visibly. "I know, I get it; I understand how risky that is. But... I can't make it any clearer than that. It's like there's been something forcing us back from telling everyone."

He sighed, and I saw Al's eyes finally shift away from his lap, watching Ed move again. Automail hand rising to his hair, fingers sweeping into his bangs as his palm ran along the corner of his eye. Trying to wipe the fatigue away...

"And now..." he said, and a quiet smile curved onto his face. "With someone trying to _recreate_ all the Sins... That feeling is back, stronger than ever."

I tried to search the ground beneath us. Tried to find some kind of response or reply. But I felt myself grow so incredibly weak again. I couldn't help. I shouldn't even try.

I pulled myself into my own thoughts, trying to go back and make sure I understood everything they had told me. I skipped over the part about Hohenheim, knowing Ed's reaction to him and resolving that the topic probably wasn't worth bringing up. When my memory caught up with the present moment, I spoke.

"So what do you think is happening now?" I asked, looking between them both. "With the Homunculi and that bounty?"

Ed shrugged. "I dunno," he replied. "Maybe someone's just after my head."

I ignored the horrible twist that statement gave my gut, trying to block out the image of Edward literally having his head cut off from his body. Held out by the hair, like Greed had been holding me...

Ed sighed quietly, bringing my focus back to him again; seeing how he supported himself with his hands laid flat against the ground behind him. He was staring out into the city lights, a soft breeze blowing his hair as he spoke.

"My guess is that someone, somewhere wasn't too happy about us taking out Father. And now they're trying to recreate his plan to be God. The bounty just might make getting me a little bit easier." His automail hand came to his face, roughly trailing down his cheek and gently pulling on the lower lid of his eye. Trying to keep himself awake again. "Which means there's a hell of a lot more of them now..."

"There's..." I tried to breathe right. "There's more people making them?" I asked, trying to search his face for an answer. "More than one person?"

Ed avoided my stare, shrugging lightly. "Maybe..." he said.

"And… They're after you because you were a sacrifice…"

He nodded, the action just as quiet as my voice was. I looked to Al, my brain working again.

"But what about you?" I asked. "You were one, too... And they had you right there!"

Al looked down, thinking about what I said.

"I'm not sure," he replied simply. "I only regained my knowledge of The Truth when I blacked out because my body was trying to pull me back..." One of the hands holding his legs close to him clenched, turning into a fist. "And now I'm not even sure it's alive anymore!"

"Hey," Ed looked to his brother, Al's head rising to meet his stare, "Don't worry about it. You're still here, so your body's still back there."

"But you're getting taller, Brother!" Al responded. So he had noticed it, too… "What about that theory you had, with supplying nutrients and sleep to keep MY body alive in the Gate?!"

Ed looked away, thinking. His focus shifted to his metal arm, curling upwards as his hand drew into a fist. "Well, this automail I got when we were in Briggs _is_ lighter; that's probably a good explanation." He looked back to Al. "And I'm still getting just as much sleep as I usually do. In fact, after that whole thing with Father happened, I slept for a solid three days, remember? I wouldn't have been that tired if I _wasn't_ helping your body."

"But why hasn't it been pulling me to the Gate?" Al asked.

Ed was quiet for a moment, looking down at his outstretched legs. "Maybe it's getting enough human experiences so it's able to hold out longer."

Al looked to him, and Ed just offered a shrug. The younger Elric turned back, folding into himself a bit more and tightening the hold his arms had against his knees. I heard Ed give a sigh.

"So this bounty probably means there's gonna be even more of those freaks coming after me..."

The present situation came back and I shook my head, speaking without thinking first. "What would Homunculi want with money?"

"Dunno." His metal finger scratched against the ground, adding a rough pattern of noise beneath his voice. "Maybe it's not even the money; maybe it's just to see if they can do it..."

He shook his head, dismissing the idea. "Either way, we gotta be on our guard." His eyes looked into mine, that golden stare holding an emotion I couldn't read. "All of us."

I nodded, looking away as I thought back again. My mind went to the sight of Ed's muscles being torn from him, the pain of my own being ripped away. Did I REALLY want to get involved in something like this?

Ed must have been thinking the same thing.

"You sure you wanna come?" he asked me softly, and the sound of my name _—_ the sound of it spoken like that _—_ almost made the tension fall away. It was a strange feeling; a mixture of absolute pain and... Something else. Something much warmer.

I smiled, seeing his eyebrows raise in the subtlest of surprises.

"I'm sure," I answered. Tears suddenly invaded from behind my eyes. I brought my hand up to them, trying to force the emotion away. I couldn't even pin-point what it WAS. Just... This heaviness…

"I mean," A small, sarcastic smile shot into my lips, "I really don't have anywhere else to go..."

They remained quiet. Patiently waiting as I pulled myself back together again. When my eyes opened, I saw Ed's metal hand had clenched itself into a fist against the concrete; Al's head lowered a bit more.

I swallowed, focusing myself back. Trying to distract myself again.

"So what do we do now?" I asked.

"Well," Ed began, "Before that whole thing in Dublith happened, and before we bumped into you in Lauxotan"—he grinned, and I gave a small smile in return, enough to curve my eyes. But it hurt, just hearing the name of that town again… Ed continued on, growing a bit more solemn. "Al and I were chasin' after rumors of this amulet. Something that's said to be even more powerful than the Stone." He shook his head, growing even more solemn. "We haven't found anything yet, though, but I'm sure it's out there, somewhere..."

I knew what he wasn't saying. I could finally grab a thought that was hovering in the air.

_"We're back to where we were six years ago."_

I looked away, searching for some words I could comfort them with. But I found nothing. What could I say? What could I possibly have to give...?

"I'm sorry." My hand clenched into a fist, and I felt even more weak saying the apology. If anything, they didn't need the pity. They'd gotten enough of it over the years, I was sure.

"Ah, don't worry about it." He stood up, getting to his feet a bit slower than I expected. Maybe his joints were still hurting from when he was holding me earlier. Guilt flashed into my gut, and I watched Ed give me a huge grin as he stood upright. "Nothin' we can't handle!"

A memory came back; when he was blind, and trying to reassure Al.

_"Nothing I can't handle! I'll be back in no time, Al, just you wait!"_

He was using that same line with me, too?

I looked up, seeing his stare turned away from me, sight on the stars visible in the sky beside us.

I wanted to stand up with him, but I stayed put. Unable to really gather much of the strength.

"So what happens now?" I asked, almost feeling like I was a broken record. Half of that description was accurate, I suppose.

He looked to me, giving a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. His hand extended, and I took it, feeling the years worth of work beneath the warmth of his skin.

"We keep on searching," he replied as I got to my feet. "And we deal with whatever else comes out way." He grinned a little more, adding, "Fully human or not!"

I nodded, and after a moment realized his hand was still holding mine. I let go with an apology, only seeing Ed blush in response, hand rising to the back of his hair as he looked down and away.

Al couldn't hold back the slight giggle he made, and this just rushed more heat to my face. I closed my eyes to the chilling breeze of the wind, finding it had no effect on the butterflies in my gut.

**Author's Note:**

> [Read more stories here](https://www.booksie.com/users/meaghan-kalena-274663)


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